421 and 422

No earthly cause had ever caught my eye

before your own was all that I could see,

and thence no brighter sun could fill my sky

than when you lived and shared your cause with me.

And noon was nonsense then, for yours was light

that shone on everything within my view,

if only all could be halfway as bright

as when I was in the same room as you.

But when we parted, then all light was gone,

and why live in that darkness? Less than sleep

would be better than should that carry on—

that reachless cold, that sunless, skyless deep.

You showed me first how bright could be the sky.

You taught me how to live, and how to die.

~~~

You promised me the fairest, clearest day,

but dust and deluge fell, without relent.

Why tell me such a tale to start my way,

of you knew the details of the torrent?

You knew it would be clearer when I found

you when my odyssey had reached its end.

You might have told me so, and I’d have found

you anyway, no matter what I’d wend.

No trick was needed for to summon me,

for tho no happy end will solve travail,

a painful journey for an honest friend

is triumph in each step along the trail.

I say, to see your face is more than mete

for all misfortune tenured by my feet.