She sighed one night, wrapped up in love's caprice,
"Tomorrow let us watch the rising sun
Atop that hill we visit." I agreed.
When she had left, I rose and set my clock.
My eyes at waking spied a golden rim,
And when it came to mind what we had said,
I sprang awake, threw clothes on, dashed outside;
And as I ran, I feared what she might think ---
That all my love for her was empty words,
That at the slightest breeze, its flower wilts,
That with the dusk, it and the day both died ---
And if somehow I caught her at the top,
I would not have the breath to set it right.
Then I arrived. I was the only one;
I looked around, and no one was in sight.
When high noon neared to mock me, I departed,
Dreading she was gone, for now, for good.
I plodded home amid my sprawling visions,
Rack and ruin, shards of erstwhile splendor,
Till I saw her figure bounding closer,
Smiling sheepishly, her hair a mess.
She stumbled forward. "Sorry I'm so late.
Let's try tomorrow?" In her anxious glance
Was force enough to save my world entire,
To piece the shards together for all time;
Her eyes shone forth so brilliantly and clear
That even in this darkness I can see them,
As though that ancient morning held us yet.