And - Pt. III

…and when you were a seesaw

In the grip of an old dilemma

While unloved ones ranted and stormed the Bastille,

You wrapped your head in feather-down

And shivered in fever

For you only knew where

Your body had been…

   (and once, you said you loved me

   in the midst of a dream).

 

…and when you cried out in

Your total abandon

To wonder why I never cried aloud too,

I mentioned that Venus

And Neptune were rising,

But never so fast or so

Far as we do…

   (and you turned your back towards me

   as your brown eyes turned blue).

 

…and why do we fight in

The way of the loveless

You said to me once on a bright afternoon,

For such is the nature of

Water and sodium,

Of Scorpio and Venus

Or Mars and the Moon;

   (or life’s fickle fortunes

   inscribed on the rune).

 

…and deep in your chart there’s

The whisper of a twinkle

In your bright eyes, and a chuckle that forces a smile,

And a giggle that you stifled

In the sad-solemn girl-face

But nurtured in the woman

In the happy glowtime;

   (and my hands bear your pleasure

   oh woman of mine).

 

David Lewis Paget