Other Peoples' Faces Poem by Roy Ernest Ballard

Enwrapped we were with not a thought
of what might others say,
our heads together brought
in love's untimely way
with nothing left unsought.
to sanctify the day.

Then mirrored in a face I saw
our privacy betrayed;
that which was only ours before
reflected and displayed,
unveiled, unlocked, an open door
to all the world arrayed.

As all the stones upon a beach
rub one another smooth,
by interaction do we teach
our manners to improve;
with courtly answers, soft in speech,
the injured party soothe.

Our watcher's face was true and there
I saw his thoughts were kind,
reflections on a rounded pair
in happiness entwined;
that we were fortunate, were rare
and evermore combined.