Shall I speak to you my secrets

in hushed and airy tones

near the warmly-lit fire?

Sweet taste of nectar and honey

you praise me and forget yourself.

How this narrative reminds me of one such time

not so long ago yet in the deep past.

I had nearly forgotten it:

How you formed and shaped your poetry 

and trained your thoughts to occupy elsewhere

then taught your words how to capture a heart.

Oh, saint of lands charted yet ne'er seen.

Praise you, lord of lands untouched.

You come to me again in the evening light once more

And here I stand, aching and confused

Were not your words poems? Was not your love true?

Or, say I, poison?

Were the songs you sang to me spells?

And I only an experiment in this lapse of time and space?

Where logic knows no bounds simply because it cannot reach them

And courage knows no hearts simply because it cannot teach them

And my soul knows no lover simply because it dare not bessech them

And God!

I dare not expect a kiss from your lips

I dare not call for you after the sun has abandoned us in favor of kinder spirits

I dare not fall back in love

Not to a stranger with a familiar face

Not to anyone

No more.