In Love and at a Loss

I wavered,

Holding my bleeding pride

As a sparrow

Carries a broken wing.

The unalterable

Visage of the moon

Told me the

Unimpeachable truth

Of beauty.

The fleeting, vain,

Tortuous life

Of lust.

I am lost in the labyrinth

Of an ardent love-

One sprung not

From my burning bosom,

But of my mind,

Which will not falter

In the same measure of time

As the suppleness of youth,

Or the desire for bodily satisfaction

Which so stains my heart,

Making useless

My reason and logic.

The stars giggle at my distress,

And I cry out,

“What is this love

That I cannot contrive

To control?”

The evening leaves me,

And I am still a girl,

Longing for the love of a man.