Poems (Truesdell)/Thou canst not forget Me

by Helen Truesdell

THOU CANST NOT FORGET ME.

Thou canst not forget me: I know that thy heart
Will cherish my memory wherever thou art;
My image will rise, like a spirit, to thee,—
Thou mayst strive, but, alas! thou canst never be free.

'Midst the gay and the giddy, thou 'It seek to forget,
But vain are thy strivings, thou still must regret:
The hopes thou hast blighted, the heart cast away,
Will linger around thee till life's latest day.

And I—oh, my spirit is dark as the night,
When I think of the hopes thou hadst power to blight!
But think not I hate thee; no, still in my heart
Thou art shrined, and from memory thou ne'er canst depart.

When evening's soft shadows shall wreathe round my head,
And the day in its splendor and beauty hath fled,
Oh! then in my spirit thou surely shalt claim
A place, and in prayer I will murmur thy name!

Oh! wilt thou not turn from the snares that allure,
And seek for the joys that are holy and pure!
'Twill save thee from sorrow, from folly and vice,
Then seek for one gem—'tis the pearl of great price.