The speaker addresses someone with a list of roles they would have taken on—astrologer, singer—if those had been the other person’s wishes. But the actual request was much smaller and more fragile: that the speaker not run away. This suggests a relationship in which the other person did not want performance, talent, or transformation, only the simple fact of presence. The mood is tender and a little rueful. There is sadness in the gap between what the speaker was willing to become and what staying would have cost. The past tense makes the lines feel like a memory, as if the relationship has ended or faded. The phrase “run away” hints at a fear of abandonment, or perhaps a pattern the speaker already knows in themselves. The language is plain and quiet, which makes the emotional weight of the last line land softly but clearly.
Sixty-Two — Summary
If you wanted astrology, I would be an astrologer; if you hoped for music, a singer then.
As it was, you had one wish only: that I not run away.