FOR YOU

For you, I could forget the gay

Delirium of merriment,

And let my laughter die away

In endless silence of content.

I could forget, for your dear sake,

The utter emptiness and ache

Of every loss I ever knew.—

What could I not forget for you?

I could forget the just deserts

Of mine own sins, and so erase

The tear that burns, the smile that hurts,

And all that mars or masks my face.

For your fair sake I could forget

The bonds of life that chafe and fret,

Nor care if death were false or true.—

What could I not forget for you?

What could I not forget? Ah me!

One thing, I know, would still abide

Forever in my memory,

Though all of love were lost beside—

I yet would feel how first the wine

Of your sweet lips made fools of mine

Until they sung, all drunken through—

"What could I not forget for you?"