Spectrum
Helena Hult
Had I known you in the Eden whence you sprang
Running hand in hand across some sun-drenched veldt
To seek the plane trees' dappled shade
We would have tasted deep the heritage
From which we both once came
Savoring the honey of our bodies.
Had you known me in my northern Arctic Spring
We would have drunk the wines of youth, of dreams
Beneath the pines upon some mossy toft
Musky with awakening hibernate
And thrusting berry and linnea vines
Kin with all living things, earthbound, aloft.
What destiny has brought us late to touch
But once or twice — the shading plane, the pine?
Your voice will always stop my breath
Your glance impaling mine o'er milling
Crowds in most unlikely places
Memory lines our faces and we move
Together, touching briefly, then move on.
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