Maman's Kiss

We take the shorter way
And see a scudding row
Of low, far off trees
Tonight dinner will be on time

We may take the royal way
More beautiful than light
But more dear, for
That night dinner will be late

The cost? A kiss, not much
But refused, as I gaze out
The azure aurora
Touches the fecund fields

The memory of your kiss
Calls across the lost years
I remember as
My childhood falls away

Princesses and barons lay ahead
I’ll know their nights
Oh – too well
Still, it’s your kiss I’ll recall.