Sheath thy shame, this poem varnish,
foil aches wherefrom the truth I wield:
Unconcealed — aerated tarnish!
metallic fists, thus clasp and yield.

Hence we must be barred asunder
Till time dissolves the soldered vain:
Galvanic feats, drained their wonder;
Caustic ions discharge their gain.

You shed a tear for me in ploy—
my iron gates, the steel forfeit.
The salt had dried my heart’s alloy
and dried, your own, I cannot sate.

Shall never blissfully unwind
Against the decades long since past.
But if I ever cross your mind
Corrode our love, embrace the rust.