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‘I shall come for you one dark night
And beneath the black bannered skies,
Embroidered with stars, by their light,
I shall kiss your leaden-lidded eyes.’
Below a silver, slivered moon,
He slips inside the household where
His footsteps dance a silent tune
Upon its tiles, then climb the stair
Towards her chamber where she soon
Welcomes her beloved there.
‘I’ll steal you from this doleful world,
Beset by duty, pain and dread,
And bear you lightly, body curled,
From your lonely, loveless bed.’
She feels his hand upon her face,
Then draws his forehead to her chest
And, folding him in love’s embrace,
Holds him tightly to her breast:
Hand-in-hand they quit that place,
And set out on their promised quest.
‘I’ll carry you, love, far from here
Along your future’s fearless track –
So wish well those whom you hold dear,
For there can be no coming back.’
At hour agreed, by means bespoke,
He bears her off, as he has sworn,
And leaves behind in parting joke
To greet the chill and cheerless dawn
Her skin and bones, that empty cloak,
For family and friends to mourn.
Flora Gillingham
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