Years After the Passing of Mary Helen

Eyes dimmed by death that once all life embraced,

Mute the voice that spoke of beauty's reign

A vibrant heart by the dark shade now stilled,

Her soul released to soar beyond the pain

Earth visits on the children of the light.

The rhythms of the dance lived in her limbs,

Her path an ordered march to worlds divine,

A music like the strophes of choral hymns

I heard in the pulsing rapture of her heart.

The brilliance of the golden summer skies,

Peony on bursting peony

Could not surpass the lustre of her eyes.

The humble dogwood clothed in clouds of white,

The nodding columbine's etheric blue

The pansy's sweet expression of delight,

Lilies fragrancing the morning dew,

Recall a living dream from measureless time.

In the shadows where the mosses cover stone

Beneath the coloured leaves of autumn trees

I hold her ever close, though most alone.