Elder Love

This was written as a song; but I think the structure is compact enough for a poem.

A younger world, an elder love;
Another time is what I’m
         thinking of:
A brighter dream to rise above
These darker days.
A smold'ring fire, now burning hot;
The sweet recall of things I
         once forgot.
It takes me there and leaves me not,
This elder love.

You bore it hard, with easy grace,
The look of tears upon your
         smiling face.
The crowded days could not erase
Your lonely nights.
Once rosy red and violet blue,
Our lighter tones took on a
         darker hue,
Until we woke and it was through,
Our elder love.

So there it is, and here we stand;
We built in stone upon this
         shifting sand,
And held our dream in empty hands
While autumn died.
And though it’s gone, it lingers yet
And lights the face that I shall
         not forget.
So say goodbye, without regret,
To elder love.