Love in Venice

One day we will remember
           that unblemished time
when we strolled
           along these canals
peered into the calm waters
           drenched
with darkness and light
           our shadows
our reflections
           dissolving as we went

What lasts forever
           if not your beauty
your ageless smile
           bright flesh of starlight
golden threads of hair
           beneath a dark
fur-trimmed hood

Hand in hand
           the hours passed
the days and nights
           in a simplicity of love
and the unrest
           of love’s wild lips

John Lyons