Stone Bridge

THERE is where the water runs
Close to iris heart, and many metal suns
Lie on the willow’s throat.
The gray stone arches low,
Water and trout may go,
Glistening, deep and afloat.
Fingering grass apart,
The stream curves and is gone,
The towers of night are blue,
And here men lonely and shy
Come down and lean on the stone and brood,
Watching stars in the sky,
Hearing the liquid sigh
Of water under stone.

Awkward and lonely they lean
With laughter still and withdrawn.
The cigarettes smoulder and gleam,
O, after the age of brawn,
And the steel we thought would preserve
Justice and powers we serve,
After we see that love
Would have gained us what killing would not,
Men will still linger and lean
Under stars where the marshes are deep,
And let water flow under stone;
Their speech will have kindness unsaid,
And the calmness of earth at sleep,
The wisdom we’ve always known,
Yet could never keep.