From that feverish house we slipped away
My arms were a nest for you to slumber in
And the woods took us in from harm
We are far from those who wanted us kept apart
Far from him – the one who held me like a dead swan
My darling they wanted you to wither inside me
But as I felt you bloom I did not allow that
You are a child of sin, but you are mine

Your bones are so small, hooked to your skin
And your pink face crumpled, confused
You do not cry, no frail sounds come from you
Are you like me?
Silent – a knot of blood for a tongue?
You have my eyes, not his
My eyes of deep brown, my sooty lashes
You know I am who you belong to

The rain has gone on falling through our weary hours
It shall be your lullaby; and the croon of the trees,
since I have no voice to soothe you with.
I rock you gently beneath beds of moss
And feed you from my wilted breasts
That sweet, lucid milk
Only the forest knows of our growing love
Our terrible and fleeting love

You will not breathe for long
You were born with affliction
Disease will grow heavy in you, fragile child
But I will stay, I am not afraid to hold you
Your pale, sunken body does not sicken me
You are my hideous flower, my lovely beast
In these woods they will not find us
Perhaps we could find a cave to dream in

You grow limp in my thin arms
The delicate smell fades from your skin
Oh, the hush has fallen over you
A strange dead leaf rests against my chest
And now, I lay you in a cradle of sodden earth
My soft grief awakens, the thickening rain weeps
Already I’ve forgotten the glint of your eyes,
the curl of your body. It is something I must do.