Stolen Salvias

O, bleeding blossoms, tell, were my heart there— 
               There in your bed, 
Would that sweet thief that stole you unaware 
               Have stolen it instead ? 
Come with me, scarlet salvias, to your home ; 
               We are not late ; 
Love in the moonlight there again will roam— 
               There let us wait. 
I still remember when one night she crowned 
               Me with the stars 
Plucked from your scarlet sky—she would 
          astound 
              The kings of Mars. 
She then would slay me—wash the face of night 
              With my bold blood— 
Ay, she would show that yours is not as bright 
              And not as good. 
O, scarlet salvias, why should I refuse 
              When I’m with you ? 
Why should I chill my lady, if she choose 
              To steal me too ?

Credit

From Myrtle and Myrrh (The Gorham Press, 1905) by Ameen Rihani. This poem is in the public domain.