Pretty Perish

♦ Sadie Barandes ♦

Winter lights and winter darkness

Kept awake by wistful dreaming

I forlornly wander on

Laurel iris, gently gleaming

Pretty ribbons, bows and wrappings

Hear the hailstorm, troubled tappings

Please don’t let my true love perish

Slowly lifting, fallen hope

By design, this love shall last

Yet by mistake, it may diminish

An image of the sorry past

Partridge, pear tree, evergreen

Prettiest weather ever seen

Please don’t let my true love perish

Dreams are dangerous, leave them be

In pretty lockets, for it’s known

While musings thrive in winter darkness

Amid spring winds, they’re bent and blown

Hopeless, weeping, one last dance

If there exists the faintest chance

Please don’t let my true love perish