The Parting

On the day before the parting
Beneath the ancient oak we lay,
Amongst the silence that long embraced
Those whose names we never knew,
Yet with whom we shared the comfort of
A world removed,
And heard not the solemn call
Of that which brings only abiding sorrow.

I never trod on fairer earth nor
Saw more beauty in a morning,
Nor heard such sweet covenants
That could not withstand the
Darkening of the morrow's breaking.

Time has caught the words
And holds them captive
Where I can not find them,
Never shall I tread the path
To where earth and sky once married
Beneath the summer's boughs
Before the reckoning;

Our names linger not from days
Long past
Now forgot by all who lie
Entwined beneath the newborn green
Upon the hill where earth and sky once married.