When I Proposed

    When I proposed

The hour was late, the moon had sunk

     Behind the dim-lined hill;

Beneath the shadowed, vine-clad porch

     The midnight air blew chill;

But cooler than the mountain breeze

                 Was Gil

            When I proposed.

            When I proposed,

She never bade me stay nor did

     She even smile or frown;

She looked quite calm, indifferent,

     From out her eyes of brown;

No trace of sorrow did she show

            When I proposed –

                 To go.

Oct. 2, ‘95

Pub. in N.Y. World,

  Dec. 1, ‘95