Erotica/Question and Answer

by Arthur Clark Kennedy

Question and Answer

SHE

When Time has robbed me of my years,And tell-tale lines invest my eyesWith channels ploughed by dint of tears,Whilst here and there a hair appearsTurned silver by Time's sighs.

For he has come quite unawaresAnd breathed his sighs upon my head,Whilst I, weighed down with earthly cares,Have recked not of the passing years,But sought my daily bread.

Love, will you love me as you sayYou love me now, when I am oldAnd all my beauty fades away,Like autumn tints when turning grayLeave life a tale near told.

HE

I love you not for what you wereOr what you are, though silver gleamsMay nestle in your sunny hair,And envious crows plant feet of careAbout your eyes, my hourly dreams

Hold but your image, sweetest heart,Deep set within a shrine of gold,With it I live a life apartWhere time is not, and like my art,You never can grow old.