What Would You Rather? Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

If
I come
and visit you
when there is an eclipse
of the moon
and twinkling stars
are fast asleep
and shadows among us
bow in abeyance
to the absence of light
would I be able to see
the beauty of your face
and watch the lashes
of your eyes
close when I touch you
and look at your smile
that so often brings a message
of love in my heart
or
should I just gather
the moment of meeting you
into a broadloom of my dreams
and wrap you into a soft blanket
to keep you warm
in my presence
away from others
what would you rather
I do
before the eclipse
retires into the sky?