To ———, During his Illness.
THOU wilt not leave me, Love, to pine alone
Upon the dreary desert of the world.
Thou wilt not, must not, nay, thou canst not die,
And leave me here, a lonely, withering flower,
Torn from its parent stem and torn from thee,
Its dear flower-mate, and thrown upon the cold
Unsympathizing earth to sigh away
Its breath upon the gales of autumn. Thou
Must never leave me, dearest, for with thee
My spirit's life would perish.
Upon the dreary desert of the world.
Thou wilt not, must not, nay, thou canst not die,
And leave me here, a lonely, withering flower,
Torn from its parent stem and torn from thee,
Its dear flower-mate, and thrown upon the cold
Unsympathizing earth to sigh away
Its breath upon the gales of autumn. Thou
Must never leave me, dearest, for with thee
My spirit's life would perish.
I have marked
Thy pale cheek growing paler; I have watched
The bright, unearthly glitter of thine eye,
Thy pale cheek growing paler; I have watched
The bright, unearthly glitter of thine eye,
