For The Reader's Ear

No, that was not passion,

It was the vague tenderness

Inspired by a sickly child,

Lang syne, and moon pale nights.

The spirit sings only

When the heart is moved,

When, shaken by love’s power, it trembles,

Broods, draws back, says not a word.

True passion might in fact

Have been…these pages,

That were they written in happier times

Would have appeared as tears, not verses.