One day I walked a wooded trail
And asked myself, "How could I fail?
For love is such a mystery,
A paradox too deep for me."

Far lost in thought, I did not see
A garden there ahead of me,
With fence of gold and hedge of green,
The likes of which I'd never seen.

And as I viewed it from afar
I saw a gilded gate ajar,
And walking to the garden's gate
I pushed upon the metal grate.

And oh! The beauty of this place;
A look of rapture crossed my face.
My eyes beheld the wondrous scene,
A vision of the most pristine.

Exotic birds of feather flew,
And plants of brightest shade and hue
Grew freely near the garden's fence,
Appealing to my every sense.

So with a look of total awe
I walked, amazed at what I saw
Inside this garden's flowered edge,
With golden fence and greenest hedge.

Then in the center of it all
I saw a statue, straight and tall;
In stone, unflawed, as from a mold,
With feathered wings of purest gold.

"Who is this angel~man?" I thought.
"From earth I know that he is not."
His beauty I could not resist~
My lips met his, I dreamt we kissed.

The lips grew warm beneath my kiss~
I knew that something was amiss.
No longer now a man of stone;
He was a man of flesh and bone.

His eyes looked deep into my face;
I melted in his warm embrace.
He spoke the words I longed to hear:
"I love you, Dearest ~ never fear."

Then tenderly he took my hand
And led me to a timeless land,
Where love unlocked each secret door;
"And yet," he said, "there still is more..."

"Though I must leave, I will return
To teach you all that you should learn."
Then with his arms he held me tight,
And kissed me in the gleaming light.

But then I felt his lips grow cold,
His hands of love released their hold;
No longer one of flesh and bone,
He was again a man of stone.

I cried and begged for his return,
Eternal love I hoped to learn.
No words he spoke, no moves he made
As daylight sun began to fade.

* * *

So day by day I walk the trail
And on his golden wings I sail;
To stand before the man of stone,
The man of love and flesh and bone.

My doubts and fears are left behind,
But still I wonder in my mind:
"Was it true love, or was it fate
That led me to the garden's gate?"