Songs to the Dark Virgin

I.

Would

That I were a jewel,

A shattered jewel,

That all my shining brilliants

Might fall at thy feet,

Thou dark one.

II.

Would

That I were a garment,

A shimmering, silken garment,

That all my folds

Might wrap about thy body,

Absorb thy body,

Hold and hide thy body,

Thou dark one.

III.

Would

That I were a flame,

But one sharp, leaping flame

To annihilate thy body,

Thou dark one.

From The Weary Blues (Alfred A. Knopf, 1926) by Langston Hughes. This poem is in the public domain.