For the present there is just one moon,
though every level pond gives back another.
But the bright disc shining in the black lagoon,
perceived by astrophysicist and lover,
is milliseconds old. And even that light’s
seven minutes older than its source.
And the stars we think we see on moonless nights
are long extinguished. And, of course,
this very moment, as you read this line,
is literally gone before you know it.
Forget the here-and-now. We have no time
but this device of wantonness and wit.
Make me this present then: your hand in mine,
and we’ll live out our lives in it.
Love has not made us good.
We still do all the cynics said we would -
Struggle like heroes searching for a war,
Still want too much, and more.
Love has not made us nice.
Elders and betters with their best advice
Can't stir us from the lounger by the pool.
We dodge all work like school,
Leave urgent deats unpaid.
Cancel the solemn promises we've made
If loyalties or circumstances change.
Our thoughts are no less strange,
But love has made us last.
We do together all that in the past
We did alone; err not as one but as two
And this is how I knew.