If I had known thee, would it be the same?
This hope, this sweet, obsessive reverence,
This yearning, ever-thirsting mortal flame
Which under ash conceals its evidence?
Thine eyes are like twin sapphires in a night
Bejeweled with milky diamonds in its crown.
And never a smile I've seen which shone so bright,
And O, what grace, the rippling of thy gown!
What flute, what strings, what melody is this?
Thy speech is like a sylph's enchanted song.
Thy motions, with a river's easy bliss,
Unwind their light, unfettered ways along.
But though these things my deepest senses move,
If I had known thee, would I call thee love?
George Chadderdon © 1993