I felt your breath upon my cheek last night—
So velvet-soft and yet like roses sweet;
I saw your skin bathed in a silver light,
Your bed afloat on moonlit shadows deep.
Your chest did rise and fall in noiseless peace,
Felt by my hand, though hidden from the eye;
And sable hair, as soft as finest fleece,
Did frame a mien as gossamer as a sigh.
I held you close and felt your body’s heat
Warm first my heart and then my very soul,
For with your grace no angel could compete—
Nor could she such a blissful gift bestow.
Thus lay I watching o’er you in your sleep,
To softly mourn that which I cannot keep.

© Loubert S Suddaby. All Rights Reserved.