When Love Is Maiden... Poem by Goodness Tchibueze

When Love is maiden,
Each moment is golden;
From a fountain laid of marble,
Sweet-fragranced flowers bubble:
The earth becomes a garden
To the butterflies aliven.
Darling Time all things
Nurses, 'tis the triun-blade who flings;

Though the storm roars,
And the tempest soars;
Love's age is the diamond's,
It's taste sweeter than the almond's.
Heaven's torch tires to the roots
All vegetations, the dewy, gray soots
Of Dawn awaken all dreams
Frozen in the snow; all steams
As gently the air combs
All verdant, floral homes.

Let sing all the birds,
Make songs of fine words:
'Distance upon distance
To Love is no hindrance! '