Aurélia (in memory of Nerval)

Oh Aurélia, do you recall
The dream whose morning is not yet born?
Images captivated by the night,
Dew stirred your longing and awakened your might,
For I am the one
Who addresses — within you —
The distance of your velvety existence,
On the morning when tears
Are healed by reunion’s light.

And I call your noble name
At the grand gate:

From the lightning of your gaze,
Great cities are born.
The geranium asks its question
Upon its thresholds,
And the swallows of twilight
Test its ramparts, weather-worn.

So too do longings awaken
Within its ancient dwellings,
To shape you forever
As a thought cradled by shadow, unshaken.