Babette Deutsch




Two People Eat Honey

Beyond the window the moon may be in riot 
With the winter night. But your voice having ceased 
In the room here, silence comes, barefooted, 
To cover the leavings of our frugal feast. 
Your hands rest on the table, clasped, quiet. 
Kind as a country servant, silence moves 
About us, with a tender dignity smoothing 
The unseemly creases in our loves. 
Your eyes upon me change no more than the rooted 
Shadow beside your chair. Your eyes know 
Upon what song this night has locked her throat. 
The melody trembles toward us, still too low 
To name, though the music mounts above our breathing, 
Mounts, and mingles with, far off, a train 
That pants harshly of journeys. Your eyes upon me. 
We are alone again.