War and Love/A Soldier's Song
For works with similar titles, see A Soldier's Song.
A SOLDIER'S SONG
How sadly for how many nightsMy dear will lie alone,Or lie in others arms than mineWhile I lie like a stone.
If she remembers me or weepsFor her lost happiness,Though dead, I shall be pierced at heartFor her great loneliness.
If she forgets me, if she givesHer lips and limbs to new desire,Though dead, I shall be pierced at heart,Burned stark by a sharp fire.
I would not have her pine and weep,Nor would I have her love again—Whatever comes after I dieThere will be only pain and pain.
I dare not ask for life, I dareOnly to ask for utter deathSo that I may not know she breathesLife from another's amorous breath.