Sonnet XIV - As Long As Tears

As long as tears can well up in my eyes
I’m saddened that our nights are marked by pain.
And now my voice expresses once again
A plaintive melody I’ve improvised.

As long as I can pluck the lute, I try
To sing about your charms in my refrain.
As long as I can think, my fevered brain
Is burning with an ardent zeal. I cry

And cry a hundred thousand times for you.
But when I feel my whirling thoughts grow still,
And when both hand and voice won’t work their will,

Because your treachery is piercing through
My heart, I’ll know there’s just one final way.
I’ll ask for Death to darken that bleak day.

© 2000 Alice Park