Landon in The Literary Gazette 1822/Absence 2

by Letitia Elizabeth Landon

68

Literary Gazette, 19th October, 1822, Pages 664

(SONGS ON ABSENCE)

Not when pleasure's chain has bound thee,
Not when lights of joy surround thee,
Not when April birds are singing,
Not when the May-rose is springing,
Not when summer smiles above,
Think thou of thine absent love.
But when the green leaves are dying,
And the autumn gales are sighing
Like love's lingering farewell sigh,
(We have known that agony)
When flowers, like our hopes, lie dead,
And each rejoicing song is fled,
When there is nought on earth or sky
To charm the ear or win the eye,
When all is dead around, above—
Then think upon thy absent love.

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