“I only know that summer sang in me
a little while, that in me sings no more”
I only know that sunlight sang softer
a little while, and darkness became more comfortable
I gave you spring,
I gave you fragrant lilacs blooming
A birds song at dawn
a river, unthawed from the harshest winter it’s ever known
I was Persephone
returned to spur growth in your soil
I feel a little like you saw
a seed and thought it would not sprout.
“I only know that summer sang in me,
a little while, and in me sings no more”
I only know I’ve traveled far to feel her golden sunshine,
and yet today I turned my back.
Excerpt from “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1923
