One unforgettable night
You gave me such chill embraces
As the snow covered heights
Receive from clouds
In northern Auroral nights
A beautiful thing—alert—serene
With passionate dreaming—wistful eyes
Dark and deep as mysterious skies
They say that love is a light thing
A foolish thing
A slight thing
So I am with you to take your kiss
And perhaps I value you more for this
But whether you love me
Who shall say
Or whether you—drifting down my way
In the great sad river of chance and change
With your looks so weary and your words so strange
Lit my soul from some hidden flame
To passionate longing—without a name
While every gust of the jungle night
Was fanning the flame you set alight
Whether I love you—you do not ask
Nor waste yourself—on this thankless task
In the little noon-tide of love’s delights
Between two nights
One unforgettable night You gave me such chill embraces As the snow covered heights Receive from clouds In northern Auroral nights A beautiful thing—alert—serene With passionate dreaming—wistful eyes Dark and deep as mysterious skies
They say that love is a light thing A foolish thing A slight thing
So I am with you to take your kiss And perhaps I value you more for this But whether you love me Who shall say Or whether you—drifting down my way In the great sad river of chance and change With your looks so weary and your words so strange Lit my soul from some hidden flame To passionate longing—without a name While every gust of the jungle night Was fanning the flame you set alight Whether I love you—you do not ask Nor waste yourself—on this thankless task In the little noon-tide of love’s delights Between two nights
[paraphrased]