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[From my copy of Collected Poems (1956) by Edna St. Vincent Millay, originally published in The Harp-Weaver and Other Poems (1923)]

Had I known that you were going
I would have given you messages for her,
Now two years dead,
Whom I shall always love.

As it is, should she entreat you how it goes with me,
You must reply: as well as with most, you fancy;
That I love easily, and pass the time.

And she will not know how all day long between
My life and me her shadow intervenes,
A young strong girl,
Wearing a black skirt and a crimson sweater
And a narrow band of ribbon about her neck.

I used to say to her, “I love you
Because your face is such a pretty colour,
No other reason.”

But it was not true.

Oh, had I only known that you were going,
I could have given you messages for her!