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jFortjtt-ttw-not 119 
Forget thee, love ?—no, not while heaven 
Spans its starred vault across the sky ; 
Oh, may I never be forgiven, 
If e’er I cause that heart a sigh! 
Sooner shall the Forget-me-not 
Shun the fringed brook by which it grows, 
And pine for some sequestered spot, 
Where not a silver ripple flows. 
By the blue heaven that bends above me, 
Dearly and fondly do I love thee! 
They fabled not in days of old 
That Love neglected soon will perish,— 
Throughout all time the truth doth hold 
That what we love we ever cherish, 
For when the Sun neglects the Flower, 
And the sweet pearly dews forsake it, 
It hangs its head, and from that hour, 
Prays only unto Death to take it. 
So may I droop, by all above me, 
If once this heart doth cease to love thee! 
The turtle-dove that’s lost its mate, 
Hides in some gloomy greenwood shade, 
And there alone mourns o’er its fate, 
With plumes for ever disarrayed: 
Alone! alone! it there sits cooing:— 
Deem’st thou, my love, what it doth seek ? 
’Tis Death the mournful bird is wooing, 
In murmurs through its plaintive beak. 
So will I mourn, by all above me, 
If in this world I cease to love thee! 
Miller. 
