LOVE ATHIRST

by: Ruth Bassett Eddy

AST night, do you recall? You turned your head,

And laid your lips to mine, as we lay there

Under the stars. The sweetness of the night

Somehow became a part of that long kiss,

Until, grown weak with passion,

You fell asleep. But I could not find rest.

The lips that clung to mine no longer gave

A passionate response. They were

Soft and warm and still against my own,--

The lips of a contented, sleepy child.

 

And oh, I was ashamed--ashamed to feel

Desire to take from your unconscious lips

The drink love had to offer you and me.

I would have been content to let the hours

Go on toward endless time, if I could lie

Against your body's close and yielding warmth;

Heart to heart and breath to breath,

My mouth against your own until I knew

The sweet exhaustion that had given you sleep.

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