BY YOUR GRACE

i have known paradise
for i have known you
like the raindrop that falls
from a quivering leaf
to be soaked into
the thirsty earth.
i have known paradise
for i have known you
like the smile upon an old man's lips
when he beholds
the wonder of the years gone by.
i have known paradise
for i have known you
like the sea curls
around the salty battlements
of castled sand.
i have known paradise
for i have known you
like the eagle that wings
patterns of fantasy
across the sunset sky.
i have known paradise
for ............
i have known you.