The moment has passed

the moment has passed
when i might have caught
a beam of sunlight shining golden through your hair
to pour itself into goblets of red wine,
intoxicating your face
with the loveliness of light -

the moment has passed
when you smiled, then,
in a morning guileless and green,
and your smile shone in my eyes,
and there flickered on my lips
syllables of songs unsung,
from some deep ancestral memory of love -

the moment has passed
when i poised myself to speak,
balanced myself with care
beside a beetling cliff,
afraid to fall, afraid to die,
fearing the infinite possibilities
of your quiet and deep gaze -
only the truly happy
can afford to die thus -

the moment has passed:
in the distance darkness awaits at the end of the world.