O LET it silent still remain,
And my unguarded wish forget;
I know its tones would give thee pain,
Then lay aside the flageolet.

Oft hast thou heard when all was still,
Its pensive carol o'er and o'er;
But now thou could'st not bear its thrill,
For he who woke it is no more.

That eye is dim, that voice is hushed,
No more thy well-known step he hears;
Each welcome from those lips that gushed,
His memory to thy soul endears.

I would not wring thy aching heart,
With e'en one pang of keen regret;
And yet how thoughtless my request —
Then lay aside the flageolet.

The lapse of years perchance may heal
The anguish of a broken heart;
The fountain of its grief may seal,
And scalding tears may cease to start.

Yet touch some dear one's favorite air,
Whose image we can ne'er forget;
The wounded bosom bleeds again —
Then lay aside the flageolet.