Erotica/Question and Answer
Question and Answer
SHE
When Time has robbed me of my years,
And tell-tale lines invest my eyes
With channels ploughed by dint of tears,
Whilst here and there a hair appears
Turned silver by Time's sighs.
For he has come quite unawares
And 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 say
You love me now, when I am old
And all my beauty fades away,
Like autumn tints when turning gray
Leave life a tale near told.
HE
I love you not for what you were
Or what you are, though silver gleams
May nestle in your sunny hair,
And envious crows plant feet of care
About your eyes, my hourly dreams
Hold but your image, sweetest heart,
Deep set within a shrine of gold,
With it I live a life apart
Where time is not, and like my art,
You never can grow old.