Marry me
“And quietly the trees casting their crowns
Into the pools.”
. (Ted Hughes)
Down by the river,
where we stopped
to greet the sleeping swans,
bats twinkle darkly,
on and off,
between the trees,
like hesitant and twisted
twins of stately blinking,
distant stars.
(I look at you.
You smile - and all
that I can think is,
Marry me.
My love,
please marry me:
My doubts, my fears
and all those years
I lived without you.
Marry me.
My love,
please marry me:
My fierce and lonely pride,
the places where I used to hide
before I knew you.)
The swans and trees still sleep,
the bats move like those trembling flecks
on an old movie screen,
where lovers kiss on a deserted bridge
and hold on to each other,
while the credits roll.