We used to say
Oh, just in fun,
That when the time came
We would run
Away together just the two …
And live like all good Pixies do
Under a toadstool.
You laughed
And said we'd get quite tipsy
On rain cocktails;
And ipsy-dipsy
We'd wander here … and wander there,
And I, with flowers in my hair.
You promised,
When you went away
You'd come for me; and on that day
We'd seek the kindly, farthest star
Where all the other lovers are.
You said:
"Just Death … can keep me from… "
Darling … I know you meant to come!
Tasting the Earth
And the wind went over the top of the birch trees
Like a great hand,
Stirring their feathery leaves and weaving violet shadows
On their shining surface.
Lying flat on the young grass
Stretched out very tall
And feeling wonderfully magnificent,
I listened to my own heart beating.
"Darling … darling," said my heart,
Pressed against the warm earth,
"Love is beautiful, and love will die…"
But can it be so terrible a thing
For love to sleep in this velvet earth?
I pressed my face against the fallen leaves
And felt the sun tangled in my blowing hair,
And felt the sun burning down into my very bones,
And knew suddenly, with a terrible aching certainty
That it was so.
"Love is beautiful, and love will die …"
Said my heart, and even the dark earth
Was little comfort!