For a Lost Love LXII

Robert Southwick Richmond

PRO NATIVITATE BEATAE MARIAE VIRGINIS

LXII: DIU WELT WAS GELF, RÔT UNDE BLÂ

 

My love was orange,

it has been so long.

 

My love was yellow,

callow fellow.

 

My love was green,

my love unseen.

 

My love was blue,

as I dreamt of you.

 

My love was red,

and I wished us wed.

 

Meine Lieb’ war bunt,

Um diese Stund’.

 

My love was gray,

as your final day.

 

My love was black,

we won't be back.

 

My love is white,

as you grow in light.

  • Author: Robert Southwick Richmond (Offline Offline)
  • Published: January 11th, 2021 14:32
  • Comment from author about the poem: Written September 8th, 2015. The 60th year poem in a cycle I add to every two years, in commemoration of the girl I was in love with in school 70 years ago; she died ten years ago of bacterial meningitis complicating Alzheimer disease. – Diu Welt was gelf, rôt unde blâ, the world was yellow, red, and blue – by Middle High German poet Walther von der Vogelweide, around 1300. – Not the worst rime for orange ever committed. Callow fellow is shamelessly pirated from The Fantasticks. The German verse: the world was many-colored at this hour – the word bunt has no completely satisfactory translation, a very common word for many-colored.
  • Category: Love
  • Views: 43
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Comments +

Comments2

  • dusk arising

    Ah the eternal quest to find a rhyme with orange.... lozenge?.... stone henge?.... and what have you?

    • Robert Southwick Richmond

      There's a small mountain in Wales called the Blorenge, whose chief claim to fame is that it rimes with orange. I don't know who was guilty of this limerick:

      There once was a lady from Blorenge,
      whose butt was a pumpkin-spice orange.
      Not black, brown, or pink,
      like you'd probably think,
      And I know, 'cause I peeped through the door hinge.

      • dusk arising

        A peeping Tom Robbie Richmond
        I espied looking over a cute blonde
        I thought 'oh my word'
        but didn't disturb
        what he did down below with his stiff wand.

      • Neville


        .. .. I have a thing about greens too



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