We flew together, gaily as birds;
We danced together as if we heard
One secret music. We lay together
As if we knew we should live forever
In a vesture of flame – eternal desire
Lifting us always onward and higher.
   So, so, the world was turning;
   Who cared a jot for any such learning?

Then was our life a round of delight,
Then was all gaiety brighter than light.
So did we flutter like moths to a candle,
Not noticing pleasure was smooth, with no handle,
Nowhere to hold when breeze turned to gale:
Nowhere to shelter when winter brought hail.
   So, so the world was turning;
   What might it have been to be more discerning?

Meanwhile the sunlight was never ending,
Each day was fun with no limit to spending –
Until we saw the trees were bare;
The party folk had moved elsewhere.
Time it was for some reassessment:
Like, what did we actually think that love meant?
   So, so the world was turning;
   What’s to be done with such ancient yearning?

We ghosts of love are everywhere,
Thronging the ballroom, crowding the stair.
You cannot see us for your eyes
Are firmly set on love’s young prize.
But we are those who went before,
Those who know the final score.
   So, all the while the world was turning,
   That beautiful incense was our youth burning.