I shall forget you presently, my dear (Sonnet XI)

Edna St. Vincent Millay

 
I shall forget you presently, my dear,
So make the most of this, your little day,
Your little month, your little half a year,
Ere I forget, or die, or move away,
And we are done forever; by and by
I shall forget you, as I said, but now,
If you entreat me with your loveliest lie
I will protest you with my favorite vow.
I would indeed that love were longer-lived,
And vows were not so brittle as they are,
But so it is, and nature has contrived
To struggle on without a break thus far,
Whether or not we find what we are seeking
Is idle, biologically speaking.
 

Poems by This Author

Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I will be the gladdest thing
Ashes of Life by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love has gone and left me and the days are all alike
Assault by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I had forgotten how the frogs must sound
Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age
Ebb by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I know what my heart is like
First Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay
My candle burns at both ends
God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay
O world, I cannot hold thee close enough
Hearing your words and not a word among them (Sonnet XXXVI) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Hearing your words, and not a word among them
Humoresque by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I know I am but summer to your heart (Sonnet XXVII) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I know I am but summer to your heart
I think I should have loved you presently (Sonnet IX) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I think I should have loved you presently
I, Being born a Woman and Distressed (Sonnet XLI) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I, being born a woman and distressed
Inert Perfection by Edna St. Vincent Millay
“Inert Perfection, let me chip your shell
Intention to Escape from Him by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I think I will learn some beautiful language, useless for commercial
Love is Not All (Sonnet XXX) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Modern Declaration by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I, having loved ever since I was a child a few things, never having wavered
Passer Mortuus Est by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Death devours all lovely things
Recuerdo by Edna St. Vincent Millay
We were very tired, we were very merry
Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay
All I could see from where I stood
Second Fig by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
She Is Overheard Singing by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Oh, Prue she has a patient man
Spring by Edna St. Vincent Millay
To what purpose, April, do you return again
The Plaid Dress by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Strong sun, that bleach
The Suicide by Edna St. Vincent Millay
"Curse thee, Life, I will live with thee no more!
Thursday by Edna St. Vincent Millay
And if I loved you Wednesday
Time does not bring relief (Sonnet II) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Time does not bring relief; you all have lied
To a Young Poet by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Time cannot break the bird's wing from the bird
Travel by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The railroad track is miles away
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII) by Edna St. Vincent Millay
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why,
Wild Swans by Edna St. Vincent Millay
I looked in my heart while the wild swans went over
Witch-Wife by Edna St. Vincent Millay
She is neither pink nor pale,


Further Reading

Poems about Memories
A group of girls from Minnesota or black mascara
by Maureen Owen
Father Listens to the Artists
by David Petruzelli
forgetting something
by Nick Flynn
Help Me to Salt, Help Me to Sorrow
by Judy Jordan
Mnemonic
by Li-Young Lee
Mnemosyne
by Trumbull Stickney
No Ticket
by Jonathan Wells
Piano
by D. H. Lawrence
Remembered Light
by Clark Ashton Smith