THE CONVERSATION

By Sara Teasdale

I am not yours, not lost in you,
⁠Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
⁠Lost as a snowflake in the sea.

You love me, and I find you still
⁠A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
⁠Lost as a light is lost in light.

Oh plunge me deep in love—put out
⁠My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
⁠A taper in a rushing wind.

This poem was originally published (with spelling differences) in Teasdale’s book, Rivers to the Sea (1915), and in this version in her 1917 work, Love Songs. This poem is now in the public domain.

You can read more about Sara Teasdale here.