In the golden afterglow you lay...

In the golden afterglow you lay,

When the emerald moon

Made thin silver fog-veils

For the bride of night,

Whose saffron-sandled feet

Walked the foam-strewn floor of the sea.

In my arms you listened

To words of love

Poured by the infinite heaven of my heart,

Echoed by the endless symphony of the sky.

Your silent gaze,

Deeper than the song of the sea,

Farther than the moon,

Nearer than your own heart-beat,

Asked mine for speech.

“What can my love say

At this sad sacred hour?”

Hour of parting this!

Love's ever-feared moment,

Longing's much-dreaded end,

Yet no voice sorrows in our being,

No woe dims the moon-face tonight.

Between the sheltering dunes and fading light

On an aërial couch lying,

Adorned in kiss-woven garments of nudity

Our spirits garlanded with myriad embraces,

Borne on passion's flaming wings

Cross this ocean of parting

Unto that far island of Cythera

Where only love reigns

In eternal majesty.