To Patricia

When the sun sets low in the red-green sky,

When the breeze blows gently o’er the Earth,

When moonlight filters through the purple mist of night,

Then yearns my heart for you, afar, my love.

Then think I of your smiling face, your eyes.

And in the ripple of a silent stream,

And music of the Spring’s awakening sounds

I hear your voice. And in the pale red rose,

Embracing crystal dewdrop, are your lips.

But e’en with so divine a form as this

A strange perplexity enthrals my mind.

Think hard e’er you bewitch me with a kiss.

Take point by point and study what you find.

Remember all is fair in Love and War;

To touch could mean to part for evermore.