by John Moultrie (1799 - 1874)
Forget thee!
Language: English
Forget thee? If to dream by night and muse on thee by day; If all the worship deep and wild a poet's heart can pay; If prayers in absence breathed for thee to Heaven's protecting power; If winged thoughts that flit to thee a thousand in an hour; If busy fancy blending thee with all my future lot -- If this thou call'st forgetting, thou, indeed, shalt be forgot! Forget thee? Bid the forest-birds forget their sweetest tune; Forget thee? Bid the sea forget to swell beneath the moon; Bid the thirsty flowers forget to drink the eve's refreshing dew; Thyself forget thine own dear land, and its mountains wild and blue. Forget each old familiar face, each long-remember'd spot -- When these things are forgot by thee, then thou shalt be forgot! Keep, if thou wilt, thy maiden peace, still calm and fancy-free, For God forbid thy gladsome heart should grow less glad for me; Yet, while that heart is still unwon, oh! bid not mine to rove, But let it nurse its humble faith and uncomplaining love; If these, preserved for patient years, at last avail me not -- Forget me then; but ne'er believe that thou canst be forgot!
Authorship:
- by John Moultrie (1799 - 1874), "Forget thee?" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Frances Allitsen (1848 - 1912), "Forget thee!", published 1886 [ voice and piano ], London: Boosey [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-11-24
Line count: 18
Word count: 199