Poems (Shore)/A Farewell

by Louisa Catherine Shore

For works with similar titles, see A Farewell.

A FAREWELL

Thou wilt not love me, then good-bye, good-bye!The time will come when I shall feel this less; When I shall find a heart that will replyMore tenderly to this my tenderness.Yet love like mine—which thine may never bless— 'Tis not in nature to feel twice; to sigh After its loss too long and bitterlyWere weakness—yet 'tis loss of happiness. I may hereafter, I shall love anew,But never, never as I now love thee; And I may wed, in heart remaining true.And so, beloved, I would wish to be.I would not choose, if all might come again,Not to have loved thee, though I loved in vain.^[1]

1. In the rough draft, this poem is headed by the words "To Adelaide."