VII. She Moved Through The Fair
She turned her face up to me
Insisting that she did not mind,
Nor did our acquaintances,
That our joining was so unrefined,
And she touched me so lovingly
That I did not hear her say
That she had never been so happy
As on our wedding day.
And as she turned from me
To move through the crowd,
I felt the depth of my love,
My heart swelling and proud.
And then she turned homeward
And I followed in her wake
Like two swans in the evening
Moving over a lake.
Then as suddenly as I heard them say
"No better pair was ever wed,"
I learned she never loved me,
Though as much she never said.
And one day, smiling, she left me
And she shed a secret tear,
And that was quite the last
That I saw of my dear.
Last night my darling came to me
In ghost form she came in
So softly did she enter
That her feet made no din.
And she touched me so lovingly
That I did not hear her say
That she had never been so happy
As on our wedding day.
~GWTW~GWTW~GWTW~
"Scarlett!" I cried when I woke,
Afeared and trembling with sweat,
"Scarlett, I am sorry. I miss you!
Please comfort your darling Rhett!"
I lay weeping in blueish twilight
As I fought to regain my head:
Scarlett was not with me,
But Scarlett was not dead.
By sunrise I stared blankly
At my hand upon the sheets
And calmingly I counted
My heart's slow, staggering beats.
I felt then the gravity of age;
Myself, a wreck of a soldier,
And though Scarlett too was aging
Still, how I longed to enfold her.
The visions had been a dream;
Just spectres of night's refrain.
Never did she love me
Or leave me in such pain,
But how the sorrow hit me
When at once she disappeared,
How could she ever do that?
It was everything I feared!
And then I came to see:
It was I who took the leave!
Though I'd declared that I was happy
I left her there to grieve.
I sailed off on a bitter cold wind
And was sure all suffering was mine,
But in truth we suffered in silence
And were bereaved of any mutual sign.
I noted then the passing of the date
I had reserved to go out to her yearly.
The distance, though cruel, must have revealed
How much I missed her so dearly.
So I left for Tara, and stopped in the city
And found my task earlier complete
For I saw my lost bride and her beauty
Move along the bustling street.
To my amazement the crowd seemed to freeze
As my heart danced in time with her gait,
I delighted at the sight of her face:
Pink of cheek and salubrious trait.
I made certain that she could not see me
As I stood, captivated, to stare:
How magically time seemed to stand still
As she gracefully moved through the fair.
(R&R please! Sorry I took so long! More to come!)