marriage poem

against the green flame of the hawthorn-tree
and my name is truthful
all down the years
the child who threw away leaf after leaf
a bird sang
she has a clear, wind-sheltered loveliness
calm as that second summer
i have come into the desert because my soul is athirst
are you awake?
daughter, thou art come to die
you are beautiful and faded
in all things not spoken of
some of the hurts you have cured