Autumnal

Shall we, while the night encloses And extinguishes the roses, Argue that the color there Is unconquerably fair, Fixed past mutability In the ever-seeing eye?

Shall we, when assertive bone Predicates the skeleton, Arguing beneath the skin That its covering grows thin, Claim our younger counterpart From the album of the heart?

Shall we, when the petal lingers For a moment on our fingers, But the tree expects the shape Of a narrower landscape, Argue that its winter be Nothing in our memory?

Let the diamond even fail From its province as a jewel, Let the sun constrict and die In a transitory sky, And the constellations dim At the Magellanic rim.

Shall we, when the night requires Our affections and desires, Argue that our kisses last Till the blind eclipse is past, And on passion's self intent Know no change of element?

Darling, while the roses fade To impenetrable shade, Shall we argue they are there Bright in the original air, Fixed beyond all power to go By our having seen them so?