Lost River
         by Sarah Elizabeth Hume



   Take me sweetly for who I am
   and crown my head with light,
   I am the angel you proclaimed
   when first we learned through hearted sight.

   Hold me with your promises
   and show me they are real,
   bless my skin
   and warm my bone
   with forged passion that you did feel.

   For I am slipping away
   beyond the world of ebony,
   soon you will no longer
   find a single thread of life that be.

   I shall be drenched in water's cold
   with silver petals in my hair,
   my eyes graying to the sky
   my empty shell all that is there.

   You will not find a strand more love,
   all that is lost is what shall be,
   so carry me swift and strong and proud,
   before the rivers enter sea.