Beneath the Eyes of Holier Men

I will remember

until all remembrance

passes from me

that I was loved by you

beneath the eyes of holier men

loved beyond thought or belief

and when they married you

to the stranger with cold eyes

and you stood alone in a

crowd of thousands

as they bound you to her

for eternity

did you think of god or

that soft spring morning

when I left you in

the gently brutal hands

of your belief?

and in my mind I own visions

of a still, brown house

and children loving us

and soft nights by a darkened pool

for you are always in me

when the gingko turns

and falls golden on the bright winter grass

or when daffodils blossom greedily together

to sweeten the wind

but for an idea

turned inside out

I could have grown old and soft with you

© 1985 J.L.Stanley

Beneath the eyes of holier men