Classic Poem

Black absence hides upon the past,
I quite forgot thy face;
And memory like the angry blast
Will love's last smile erase.
I try to think of what has been,
But all is blank to me;
And other faces pass between
My early love and thee.

I try to trace thy memory now,
And only find thy name;
Those inky lashes on thy brow,
Black hair and eyes the same;
Thy round pale face of snowy dyes,
There's nothing paints thee there.
A darkness comes before my eyes
For nothing seems so fair.

I knew thy name so sweet and young;
'Twas music to my ears,
A silent word upon my tongue,
A hidden thought for years.
Dark hair and lashes swarthy too,
Arched on thy forehead pale:
All else is vanished from my view
Like voices on the gale.