To Audrey

Dearest love, you cannot know

What gold you are to me,

Nor that you are the rarest jewel

In my hearts treasury.

Others have bonds and banknotes green

Locked up to mold away.

But my rich treasure can be seen

With me on any day.

Each morning when I wake I see

The bright gems of her eyes,

And those white pearls her lips enclose

Gleam for me when she sighs.

But far more precious than the rest

Beyond my writers art '

Is that great jewel in her breast

The ruby of her heart.

None other's is more deep, more fine,

More rich than that rare gem;

I have more wealth in Audrey's mine

Than all the monied men.

And she has willed that heart to me

And gives it every day,

A covenant and legacy

Our bond past judgment day.