Beauty Possessed Me

Katharine Howard

Beauty possessed me—
For a space I knew not Time.
The air filtered through gold
Down-sifted from a yellow cloud.
Strange silences were passing by—
I could not speak aloud.

I scarce could touch my feet to earth,
My bones weighed me so light.
I touched my shoulders, glancing down
Doubting my wings were grown.

Always and always afterward
I felt a clear space round me spread;
Pain passed me by, and sorrow
Touched me not, and I could walk alone—
Alone and with no loneliness, although
The space around was clear.
Beauty possessed me and I knew not fear.