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Ah, No! I Cannot Say "Farewell
From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, vol. 3 (1855–57)
Ah, no! I cannot say "Farewell,"
'T would pierce my bosom through;
And to this heart 't were death's dread knell,
To hear thee sigh "Adieu."
Though soul and body both must part,
Yet ne'er from thee I 'll sever,
For more to me than soul thou art,
And oh! I 'll quit thee never.
Whate'er through life may be thy fate,
That fate with thee I 'll share,
If prosperous, be moderate;
If adverse, meekly bear;
This bosom shall thy pillow be,
In every change whatever,
And tear for tear I 'll shed with thee,
But oh! forsake thee, never.
One home, one hearth, shall ours be still,
And one our daily fare;
One altar, too, where we may kneel,
And breathe our humble prayer;
And one our praise, that shall ascend,
To one all-bounteous Giver;
And one our will, our aim, our end,
For oh! we 'll sunder never.
And when that solemn hour shall come,
That sees thee breathe thy last,
That hour shall also fix my doom,
And seal my eyelids fast.
One grave shall hold us, side by side,
One shroud our clay shall cover;
And one then may we mount and glide,
Through realms of love, for ever.
Cite this poem
MLA
Rodger, Alexander. “Ah, No! I Cannot Say "Farewell.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/rodger/4/.
Chicago
Rodger, Alexander. “Ah, No! I Cannot Say "Farewell.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/rodger/4/.
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