How you got wind of it 

            I never really knew

            Because I didn’t notice anything amiss

            Perhaps you thought you saw a limp,

            A tic, a slightly tremulous hand:

            Nonetheless, my aim was unimpeachable

            I’ve been a long time pondering,

            After the curses, in exile

            Among the rocks and thistle

            Just above the breakers on the coast

            And at the corner table of the café

            Where Pablo serves the blackest aromatic coffees

            Late at night, for regulars,

            I lay aside my quiver and my bow

            At first the islanders applaud 

            The oratory I prepare for your return,

            Then through the early morning hours of countless days

            I find a tongue for ordinary things,

            For passages and song

            You would be their envoy, naturally,

            As irresistible as when you stole away,

            Beauty bound to power

            Like me to you

            How I delight in your soft

            Half-truthful breath,

            Your eyes with their avenues of cypress:

            Time has magnified allure

            I’ll hand you what you cherish

            Readily, my implements of war,

            But please don’t speak of honour,

            Gold or incandescent victory

            It took the tenderness and fragrance of a wound

            To give me pause –

            And you