Countee Cullen speaks to someone who has refused him, but he does not argue with that refusal. Instead, he narrows his hopes to a single afternoon. The two of them lie in the clover, watching clouds glide overhead like ships. For one hour, he says, they are young and tender; he is the bee, the beloved is the flower, and the world feels honeyed and swaying. They wander through the land, plucking an apple and tossing it between them. There is no promise beyond this. Joy and sorrow are only certain while they are happening. So he asks the beloved to wear his heart today, because tomorrow the winds may blow it somewhere unknown. The mood is warm, playful, and gently urgent—a love lyric that accepts the moment as enough.
To One Who Said Me Nay — Summary
This much the gods vouchsafe today: That we two lie in the clover, Watching the heavens dip and sway, With galleons sailing over.
This much is granted for an hour: That we are young and tender, That I am bee and you are flower, Honey-mouthed and swaying slender.
This sweet of sweets is ours now: To wander through the land, Plucking an apple from its bough To toss from hand to hand.
No thing is certain, joy nor sorrow, Except the hour we know it; Oh, wear my heart today; tomorrow Who knows where the winds will blow it?