Christopher Askew

When there were stars

Long ago, when there were stars at night

the dark diminished by their gentle light

at times my then-forever friend and I

down upon the wide and welcome beach would lie

while bats from palms nearby eyed our delight.

Those late October eves were cold and bright

I'd touch her trembling hand, then hold it tight

and we would soar beyond that hope-swept sky

where there were stars.

I'm grounded now, in time. Despite

a life of length, and breadth, and height

to envy, what I wouldn’t give to ply

once more that cosmos, soar again that shimmering sky

where dark was overcome by sparkling light 

when there were stars.

This poem is a rondeau, a lyric form, often melancholic, from 13th century France, typically adhering to the structure aabba aabR aabbaR, where R is a refrain taken from the first line.  cf. In Flanders Fields