Rendezvous

The gentle rains caressed the sky,
The softest buds of lilac bloomed,
With petals danced they far and high,
In air, by lavender perfumed.

Outstretched they long as eyes could pierce,
The violet hues in full deploy,
The words were soft, the laughter fierce,
In gardens green from nature’s joy.

Along the path, which round the vine,
Upon a tranquil resting place,
My hope and fear did there combine,
The moment when I saw her face.

I’ll not commit my sight to rhyme,
For words can never truly see,
A single moment carved in time;
The beauty of my Annalee.

A moment is so many things,
Their numbers far too great to list,
The breeze that flies, the bell which rings,
The instant you and fortune kissed.

But ne’er a moment ever rise,
That dare outshine my Annalee,
For as I looked into her eyes,
They mirrored what she saw in me.

The very gaze, that selfsame look,
That yearning for a needful kiss,
No tale within a picture book,
Has ever dreamt of love like this.

We stood there, hearts in echoed beat,
Beneath an arching willow tree,
We swore return, and once more meet,
Did I, and lovely Annalee.

For countless days, we kept our vow,
Within that garden, fresh and warm,
We knew each rose, each waving bough,
Which stood in peace or swayed in storm.

It dwelled beyond the world of men,
This love I’d found for Annalee,
And never would I know again,
This mercy born by fate’s decree.

We knew a rich, unworded trust,
That let our hearts in freedom fly,
But desperate pulls of wanderlust,
Compelled our tearful, long goodbye.

We each held tight the prize we stole,
Her glimpse at I, and mine of she,
That piece of one another’s soul,
My heart, and that of Annalee.

Eternal vows from ageless flames,
That in the darkness, ever burn,
We gave our promise, spoke the names,
A thousand years, and we’d return.

Ten centuries pass by so soon,
I long to see my Annalee,
But empty gardens ‘neath the moon,
Pronounce my bitter tragedy.

No words, my heart, could courage lend,
The rain is chilling to the bone,
I’ve waited here for days on end,
In tears, and utterly alone.

So deeply pierced by fortune’s dart,
No time can dull my memory,
Of she who held and broke my heart,
My Love, my Lost, my Annalee.

This is good.

I have a distinct sense that this is directly referring to some part of the M:EM or the canon, and that I'm just not savvy enough to catch the reference?

Either way, it's wonderfully done. Reminds me very much of "Annabel Lee."

Let me put it this way. It doesn't reference any specific, established M:EM moment. I wrote this poem because I was feeling a little down, and I wanted to try to create something beautiful. Then, half-way through it, I sort of came up with an idea. So all I'll say is that there's a reason this is in a quote.