I’m on holiday

but I can’t relax.

I’m maroon.

I’m peaceful and yet

I am too rich to be at peace.

I’m in love with you.

Oh violent lover with hostile love

that burns deep and stings crazy,

shine down on me

like the yellow-orange radiation of the sun.

Love may shorten life,

but it warms the living.

Oh gentle lover with soap-soft caress

that burns deep and stings crazy,

whisper through my woods

and dust snow from my branches.

Love may shorten life,

but it warms the living.

Oh simple lover, who’s simply loved,

of all love’s complex palette

I offer a life of maroon

with all its burn and sting.

but I will love you

throughout all life’s seasons.

Love may shorten life,

but it warms the living.