You scraped the frosty pane, and far
Away, you saw the diamond star
Who conjures every lover’s wail
Under the mysteries of her veil.
And then, I’m sure, you knelt to beg
Your heart might hang upon that peg.

Do not be impatient, boy,
For what Venus will impose.
All her bitter wounds of joy
Bloom as surely as the rose:
Thorns of love will leave you torn
With a signet proudly worn.

Proudly worn through wretched sleep,
Borne in silence through the day;
Play or work, the wounds go deep
And you cannot wish away
What Nature’s mortal chain defends,
So Cupid’s carnage never ends.

Many years from where we are,
When a burdened heart is yours,
And you curse the evening star
While stranded on her acid shores,
She’ll wink and shine a deeper blue —
A tribute to herself, not you.

© 2015 by Ellin Anderson. All rights reserved. No part of  this work may be copied or used in any way without written  permission from the author.