Dissolution

I languish in thy penetrating clasp, 
Just as a bird entangled on a bough 
    Shaken by the wind; 
Yet here would I be happy in the grasp
Of death; but in thy breast I'm hidden now, 
    And death is blind. 

I melt beneath thy storm of kisses, dear, 
Just as the gum upon the almond tree
Of melting when alone and far from thee: 
    Melts 'neath the rain; 
Yet would I melt to-night than live in fear 
    O, storm again! 

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