If

if
the time comes
when my tears can no longer
gather every fiber of sorrow
in my soul,
please,
help me to weep
as still and as soundless
as shadows at dawn

if, finally,
my dreams are cursed
and the night, a mute witness
to my motionless slumber,
please,
sit by my side
and sing me stories
to bring to my wanderings

if, at last,
love is torn violently
from my words,
and all i offer is the darkness
of smiles,
i beg of you,
burn all poetry nurtured
from my heart –
do not leave any mark,
not even my name

ay, when i finally close myself
like a clenched fist,
but not of rage nor despair,
i ask of you,
crush the brown roses
and cast their petals
into the still, still light
of dusk