Gentle Annie

Thou wilt come no more, gentle Annie
Like a flow'r thy spirit did depart;
Thou art gone, alas! like the many
That have bloomed in the summer of my heart

Shall we never more behold thee;
Never hear thy winning voice again
When the Springtime comes gentle Annie
When the wild flow'rs are scattered o'er the plain?

We have roamed and loved mid thе bowers
When thy downy cheeks werе in their bloom;
Now I stand alone mid the flowers
While they mingle their perfumes o'er thy tomb

Ah! the hours grow sad while I ponder
Near the silent spot where thou art laid
And my heart bows down when I wander
By the streams and the meadows where we stray'd

Stephen Foster, 1856