No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist
Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;
Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd
By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;
Make not your rosary of yew-berries,
Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be
Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl
A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;
For shade to shade will come too drowsily,
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.

But when the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,
And hides the green hill in an April shroud;
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies;
Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,
Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,
And feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes.

She dwells with Beauty—Beauty that must die;
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu; and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips:
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine,
Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue
Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine;
His soul shall taste the sadness of her might,
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

Cold steel in my side, the world fades to gray
Smoke stings my eyes, another soldier gone astray
Comrades lie silent, their faces turned to sky
This wasn't the future we dreamt of, you and I

Sweetheart, this picture, worn with every mile
The memory of your smile, for a little while
It chases away the fear, the sting of defeat
But a lifetime of loving, condensed into this heat

Remember that fight, the night before I left?
Angry words spoken, a love harshly cleft
I should've held you tighter, whispered promises true
Instead, I slammed the door, leaving the worst of me with you

The mud sucks me down, a crimson tide rising high
But in your eyes, my love, forever I can fly
We'll dance beneath the stars, a waltz in the unknown
No battlefield scars, just love we've always known

Sweetheart, this picture, stained with crimson tide
The memory of your smile, by my side, my side
It chases away the fear, the final, fading beat
A lifetime of loving, wrapped around this tattered sheet

Forgive me, darling, for the harsh goodbye
My love for you, eternal, beneath this fading sky