Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Love's Parting Wreath

I give thee, love, a blooming braid;
    I cull'd it at eve's 'witching hour;
I twin'd it in the moon's sweet shade,
    When starlight dew was on each flower.

I chose the myrtle's fadeless leaf,
    For it will picture faith to thee;
I chose the cypress—'tis like grief—
    And that may well my emblem be.


I place the violet in my wreath—
    Its sigh is memory's perfume;
I place the rose, for its sweet breath
    Survives its beauty's passing bloom.

Oh! not a flower is here entwin'd,
    That lays not on thy thought a spell:
Forget-me-not, the wreath shall bind—
    Forget me not, is Love's farewell.