The Tests

She said to him, "You must bring me the moon."
And he went and fetched a pail,
And filled it with water beneath the moon,
So she could watch the crescent sail.

She said to him, "You must bring me the sun."
And he plucked a strand of her hair,
And lifted it to show her the sun,
Caught enraptured and trembling there.

She said to him, "You must bring me the stars."
And he found some dandelion-seeds,
And laid them on a cloak to sparkle like stars,
White and delicate upon sable meads.

She said to him, "You must bring me the night."
And he took a strand from his head,
And held it up to show it was dark as the night,
Dark as the final word said.

She said to him, "You must bring me a diamond."
And he shed a quivering tear,
And placed it upon her finger like a diamond,
Like a wedding ring to wear.

She said to him, "You must bring me rubies."
And he shed two drops of red blood,
And offered them to her, most precious of rubies,
The small rains that promise the flood.

She said to him, "You must bring me emeralds."
And he went and compacted two grass-gems,
And brought them to her, no different from emeralds,
And placed them upon her hair like diadems.

She said to him, "You must bring me sapphires."
And he fetched a mirror, and her eyes
Caught in the reflection, to show her sapphires,
Blue as the clouds after sunrise.

She said to him, "You must give me roses in winter."
And he went and found two maple leaves,
And placed them to shine like roses in winter
In a swaddling cloth's white sheaves.

She said to him, "You must give me golden fruit."
And he reached out and bared her sweet chest,
To show her there the shining golden fruit,
The fullness and the ripeness of each aurum breast.

She said to him, "You must give me a fairy's bright bell."
And he took straight a cowslip from the meads,
And rang it so she could hear the fairy's bright bell,
And then entwined it among her beads.

She said to him, "You must give me your heart."
And then he stood there quite still,
And said to her, "Long since yours is my heart.
I have stood many tests of my will."

He said to her, "You must give me your heart."
And she had a dagger brought to her hand,
And would have pulled out her beating heart,
To answer his breathing demand.

He said to her, "You must give me nothing."
And while she sought something to chance her
His demand to fulfill, he turned with nothing,
Having waited too long for his answer.