Classic Poem

If thou and I indeed must part,
If even the sweetest days must close,
If time that severs rose from rose
Must also sever heart from heart, —
Oh, then let not our parting be
In Spring, that were too hard to bear!
For then the copses ring with glee,
A thousand blossoms scent the air.

When Spring's glad myriad voices
Sing love-songs of the heart,
When every bird rejoices,
It were to sad to part!

If thou and I must face the night,
The darkness where hopes earthly end, —
If, having called me " sweetest friend, "
Thou yet must vanish from my sight, —

Oh, then let not our parting be
In Summer, that were worse to bear!
Such glory rests upon the sea;
This world is then so wondrous fair.

When every hour discloses
More fully Summer's heart
To Summer's countless roses,
'Twere sadder still to part!

If thou and I must face the fate
So many souls have faced before,
And, having met, must meet no more,
And, having loved, have loved too late, —
Oh, let our maddening parting be
In Autumn. If we part at last,
Let it be when the winds at sea
Thunder " Despair " in every blast!

When wild red leaves are flying,
Each bleeding at the heart,
Then is the time for sighing,
Then is the time to part!