Forgetting

To forget! Ah, that heritage
Most envied! To forget!
To possess that magic shuttle, with which
To replace the tatters in the weave.
To forget! To bar from the holy hours
The prying instants which press
Bare bodkins to the heart,
And laugh impishly.
To forget! To snuff the candle,
Burning in the tabernacle!
Ah, but in that black retreat-
Silently uplifting,
Undeniably scribing-
The slender tongue of smoke
Licks at memory,