Poetry

So close now and yet so far.
.
So close now and yet so far,
My sweetheart mused upon a star,
The fragile roof above us now,
Does seem to tremble with the sound,
Of horses bound and bearing down,
Eclipsing joy of memory found,
The ragged and the rabid hound,
The hapless and the fearful town,
I wandered through the echoes there,
The hollow streets without a care,
And saw a light within the dark,
That beckoned me to pause and hark,
I could hear the sound of joy,
The sound of happiness be there,
I could only rest a while,
For yonder there lay many a mile,
For to gather all my sins,
And burn them down to cleanse my life,
Leave ashes upon hallowed ground,
A fond farewell,
To earn my wife.

Joseph Blake