Now Touch the Air Softly

Now touch the air softly,

Step gently. One, two...

I'll love you till roses

Are robin's-egg blue;

I'll love you till gravel

Is eaten for bread,

And lemons are orange,

And lavender's red.

Now touch the air softly,

Swing gently the broom.

I'll love you till windows

Are all of a room;

And the table is laid,

And the table is bare,

And the ceiling reposes

On bottomless air.

I'll love you till Heaven

Rips the stars from his coat,

And the Moon rows away in

A glass-bottomed boat;

And Orion steps down

Like a diver below,

And Earth is ablaze,

And Ocean aglow.

So touch the air softly,

And swing the broom high.

We will dust the gray mountains,

And sweep the blue sky;

And I'll love you as long

As the furrow the plow,

As However is Ever,

And Ever is Now.