Forget me! oh, forget me!
By the bitterness of tears,
By the strength of love that dies not
Through the lapse of dreary years,
By the pangs of disappointment,
By the weariness of care,
By the broken heart's lone watchings,
By the darkness of despair,
By the pains of separation,
By the gnawings of regret,
By the blessedness of heaven,
I charge thee to forget.

By the silent stars that witnessed
The fervor of our vows,
By the breeze that sang so sweetly
To the whispering forest boughs,
By the music of that river
That lulled us with its tone,
By the hills we climbed together,
By the forests dim and lone,
By the pleasant paths we threaded
When the gorgeous sun had set,
By all things bright and beautiful
I charge thee to forget.

Forget me, love; forget me,
And cease the idle quest;
Fly, fly the dream that haunts thee,
And will not let thee rest.
By the promptings of thine honor,
By the strength to me denied,
By thy hatred of the evil,
By thy manhood, by thy pride,
By the mastery of genius,
By thy peace before we met,
By thy truthfulness, thy purity,
I charge thee to forget.

Forget me; yes, forget me!
This is all the boon I crave:
Give the fruitless vows we plighted
To oblivion's darkest wave;
Rend the ties too wildly woven
Round our kindred souls apart,
Turn my shadow from thy pathway,
Tear my image from thy heart.

By the joys that came and faded,
By the hopes that rose and set,
By the present, past and future,
I charge thee to forget.