Of Dreams

L'Invito

Come to me in dreams, since truth denies me;
In night's darkling womb I may feel your breath
Upon my cheek, and for that moment know
What day's unvarnished light will not allow.
Night is kind to those who may never have;
Its brush is forgiving, its canvas wide;
It paints me lying against your shoulder,
And I remain content while sleep accords.
Stay with me, then, belovèd, just this night,
And give sweet respite to my heart's unrest.


After the Dream

With widening dawn
fragments bloom
like passion flowers:

a smile I recall
but never saw,

a voice from your lips,
yet strange and new,

embraces hidden from history
beneath the heavy cloak of sleep.

Dark disperses, light gathers,
morning quickens, fragments fuse and form,
the vista of day's long hours
brightens

as I remember
the you I knew in the night.


© Leticia Austria 2008, 2012