I wanted to give you
The curve and soar and laughter of an eagle,
'Gainst the running wind of time against the hills,
Touching his wings against the sun, his back
Shining in the light
Reflected from a silver-studded sea.

I wanted to give you
The silhouette of winter trees,
Watching and waiting for the spring,
Purified by snow,
Adorned by jolly robins and the low,
Deep, earnest glow of morning.

I wanted to give you
The softest violet petal
To make you smile.

I wanted to give you
A puffy, fluffy, chuffy cloud
To chase the dark ones from your sky.

I wanted to give you
The last day of summer,
The bending whisper of the lazy grass,
The low breeze chasing the leaves through clover,
Tempered with heat,
The warmth of smoky blackberries,
The infinite depths of green on rhododendrons,
The last mad laughter of children before the holidays end,
A cat curled, still in summer,
The tip of his tail tapping his nose
To a slow, latin beat.

I wanted to give you
A perfect chord,
Rich, pure and vibrant
To set you weeping and your heart singing.

I wanted to give you
A grey-green lake with purple spots,
To show you what can be achieved by the imagination of an ordinary middle-class girl without the aid of illegal substances.

I wanted to give you
A Spanish lover with eternal eyes,
The warm sea-breezes on Jamaican coasts,
The droplets from a dew-strung silken spider's web,
The dainty arch of a tulip's stem,
The path of a dinghy bob-bob-bobbing on a gentle wave,
The stain of chocolate on a child's fingers and the sweet, warm,
Melting mystery of blackberries.

I wanted to give you
The time I went to the dentist
And my teeth were in perfect order.

I wanted to give you my love of mountains,
To watch the snow-clad shoulders, shadowing each other,
Singing to a swallow's nest far, far away,
As if they called to you, too,
Telling you that life
Is better when you stand on the roots of the world
And look above the clouds for eagles.

I wanted to make you empress of the world,
Even if you'd turn despot
And burn my Clannad albums.

I wanted to give you
A perfect poem
To sail beneath the shadowy veneer
Of casual courtesy and say:
Your presence in my life is like the drift of sea-air to a land-locked kittiwake.
Your company is vibrant like a Chinese festival,
And I see paper monsters in party-coloured frocks
And people laughing and dancing and singing and ringing bells.
Your love has been a candle in my darkest hours
And when I smiled you were a second sun to share my happiness.
You have been Atlas to me, bearing burdens,
With both feet on the ground but your head above the clouds.
You are a perfect,
Human,
Street-wise Romantic.
With one foot for dancing to anarchic beats
And the other
For skipping
Over western sands in summertime.

I want to summarise, to speak to you in verse
And find a phrase to comprehend your worth: