We have known treasure fairer than a dream
Upon the hills of youth. And it shall stay
Jewelled in the distance, untarnished and supreme,
For the dark tentacles of life's decay never shall shadow it
Nor over throw its years like hours grown golden in the sun,
Its years lived full in the gathered light,
An amethyst across the sea of night.
For dawn and dusk we knew and caught our breath
With the exquisite maginings of Spring,
Lived deep, talked lightly of this stranger death,
And love grown wistful with remembering
A half familiar tune we used to sing, these were ours,
Love's touch upon our hands, music and flowers
Though in the faithless years they have no part,
These are the endless things, the real of heart.
– Anon
This poem is listed as Anonymous in Seven Ages: Poetry for a Lifetime (1992) edited by David Owen
