LOVE'S MASQUERADE

LOVE'S MASQUERADE

by Robert Davidson

I ran along the dark-shored lake as
A magpie in a blue gum sang a mystic melody.
But so afraid was I to unmask my heart
And share with you my love's wond'rous rhapsody.

To me the world was frailer than a dream
And I like a grotesque shadow dancing on the wall
Was filled with broken songs of the might-have-been
While pretending to be what I was not at all.

Across the waters two magpies were
Loving in a slant of sunlight. And in my soul I cried:
'Please take me out of myself, unveil my heart,
Sing me the magpie song of love,' I gently sighed.

So shy was I to show my love,
Just like a cloud that hides the blue.
I kept my love locked up inside
Like cobwebs masking the rose's hue.

But you told me my love I must not hide,
And rowed across the water in your boat, so very bold,
To take me in love by the lake. And when I woke
The magpies fluting notes were liquid gold

Nice poem. I especially liked how the second and fourth line rhyme in each stanza.