Villanelle in Memorium

Sheila Martindale
From:   No Greater Love. Moonstone Press, 1989.

               for Naomi Harder

He courted you with roses, and a gun
Wanting you to come to him again
He would be for you, the only one

Did he talk to you about the fun
Love is, or only of its pain?
He courted you with roses, and a gun

Did you remember how he won
Your heart, before his needs imposed such strain?
He would be for you, the only one

You were for him the world, the stars, the sun
The moon that must stay bright and never wane
He courted you with roses, and a gun

He did not see that vows might be undone
Or that romance could ever be mundane
He would be for you, the only one

Of life without your love, there shall be none
The ties that bind, in death will still remain
He courted you with roses, and a gun
He would be for you, the only one

Poem 1 | Poem 2 | Poem 3 | Poem 4 | Poem 5 | Poem 6

Sheila Martindale's works copyright © to the author.