Once Upon A Time

Once when I was young and unafraid
I lay beside you in a field of grass
And watched the birds careening overhead.
I felt that I was like them in some way,
And thought that I could feel their shadows pass.

And you were young then, too, and had a book
A thoughtful book, discarded at your side
(For talk was finer than the finest books
And silence best by far, or so we thought.)
The world still seemed to be immense and wide.

Then just to touch your hand was pledge enough,
Or else to feel your heart beat 'neath my head
Was full assurance that our way was good.
The grass grew very tall about us there,
And we saw little save our grassy bed.