To an Absent Child, by Marjorie Allen Seiffert

To an Absent Child

I At first in dreams
I pressed you so close
That you melted away on my breast,
But now I wait, breathless and motionless,
Till I feel your slender arms caress me
Like swallows blown against me
And quickly flown. II Small flower,
My body is the earth from which you sprang,
But we are more to each other than earth and flower,
Closer, even, than earth and flower,
For the sky in me is one with the sky in you..   My love for you
Is like sunlight in a quiet place,
You shall feel my love like soft light
Pouring about you. III I will not kiss you,
For my kisses are a chain without an end;
Nor take you in my arms,
My arms would smother you against my breast;
I will not even touch your shining head--
But lift your eyes up, flower-face,
And I will fill them as full of love
As they can hold! IV Ah no! If you were here
I would sweep you into my arms and hold you close!
Though my love is of the spirit
I must feel your little restless body
Pressed for a moment against my heart.

poems.one - Marjorie Allen Seiffert

Marjorie Allen Seiffert