40. Helen

I hate you, harsh Helen,
For dark longing and disdain,
and the time spent as one.
All of it in vain!

Did you give in, my maiden,
to the gleaming armor
or his knightly sheen?
Books bought in cheap haste
are dealt a sorry fate...

How hard is it, sweet Helen?
To revel in a heart’s winter;
this—walking with a dagger
thrust through the soul’s desire.

Love pines for somber passions,
Soul cloaked in amorous rigor.
Love only lasts for strangers
who met when the night was younger.

Love is just naked passion;
blind beyond mere reason,
clear as a stillborn winter.
Silent as the beggar's prayer.

Did you feign, mio amore?
For filthy sinful pleasure,
Dear as an orphan’s dollar.
Your icicle eyes scream,
Blind, as the lover's dream.

For the longing and this sweet pain;
and the time we spent in vain.
For that alone,
I love you, dear Helen.

Note: Posted on the Caferati Board on February 3, 2005.