The night quickens
As lovers too long parted
Meet beneath a starry, moonless sky.
Their fingers tremble
As they touch,
Seeking, stroking, caressing
As if blind;
Yet these furtive moments are silent
Lest dissenting ears should hear,
And prying eyes should see,
And disaster befall
Their forbidden union.
How they long for the freedom
To meet one another
Beneath a benevolent sun;
To know no fear of reprisal,
To love openly as God intended.
How they long to declare themselves One
Before family before friends,
Within a holy place.
But, for now, it cannot be;
So they steal these hours
From the night,
And within the fragile cloak of secrecy
Renew the whispered vows
They have forged with each beat
Of their hearts.

c 1998