I APPRECIATE YOUSo it had been that you trod by meWhen the ills of life had chafed my spiritWhen I would wander forth and seek the woods
You became the chant of the birdsAnd the soft caress of the fresh air That talked to me and soothed me
And made me forget the thoughts that broke my peaceYou never had a frown for meYour voice never rebuked me for the hours I stole From the cares that I loved not
Though I had met the wines like old companionsYou saw beauty in my walkPatient and waiting like the soft breath of springTill my nights came and went
And when the shadows of dawn cameYou stood in your beauty and strengthYour bosom swollen with a woman’s prideYour eyes studded with trembling water-drops
That glimmer with an amethystine lightTo wean my thoughts of the woes of the pastAnd prepare me for the radiant future ahead.
--------Inez Anigbogu