Clover

A patch of clover in a perfect lawn;
neglected to spread broadleaf killer
so this patch shows even after mowing
yet I refuse to eradicate it

When I was a young man such clovers
formed a chain when I met my best friend:
Senior day at Notre Dame High School,
Kathy Hopper, Diana and I wandered talking.

We made flower chains from clovers
growing unchecked by the south wing;
they each made one and I made two;
we wore them back to class like crowns.

Sister and brother we became forever,
Artemis to my Apollo, answerable only
to our common bond of understanding
crowned with a clover chain evergreen.

Caesar may have had his laurel crown
but lived too short a time to know
the joys that come with requited friendship
that grows stronger through the years.

So I let these clover alone in awe of power
that abiding love may join two people
despite distances and love of others
"to love pure and chaste from afar."

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Quoted passage is from The Impossible Dream"