Fair Maiden

Fair maiden, did I startle you?

Enshrouded in your gossamer,
Your hidden jewelry draped
In husky opulence throughout
The clasp of stellar diadems
You hold, unveiling only in
The amethyst and night.
I watched you pluck those fruits
From your immortal trees and saw,
As if beneath a dusky dream,
Your pale and splendid body climb
The ladders to the firmament
And soon adorn with lustrous pearls
The mood of your domain.

Fair maiden, may I stay a while?
I could remain as naked as you are,
And harmonize my sighing with the hills.
You have dominion over me;
Your sight surmounts all mortal kind
And in your presence I can not
See that which lies nearby.
Despite this, I still view your peak
Above the sacred woods,
And trembling in the unclad air,
Lie prostrate and profess
Your effulgence an argent pagentry
Worthy of any stage.

Fair maiden, may our gazes meet?
It would be naught but death for I,
But I am worthy of this noble end.
Your taste, nocturnal smell, and whisperings
Entrance me as they always have.
I laid bewitched and curious
When just a child, frightened of
The night and its suggestions.
I understand futility,
And your impassive ways and grace,
But do not let the punishments
Of star-crossed ancestors prevent
My metamorphosis
Among the stars of my selection,
Hanging from the cross that I have built.
Embrace me in your radiance,
My Maiden never to be lost,
And kiss me ere I fade back to the day.

Fair Maiden, follow me where I may go,
Or if you wander, set me sleep,
In some descending valley side,
Dreaming for your return.