Debt

This poem, which I found in Volume II of "Crimson Trove," reminded me of someone very special to me, someone who I am forever indebted to for making me "sing again when all the songs were mute."

My debt to you, Beloved,
Is one I cannot pay
In any coin of any realm
On any reckoning day:

For where is he shall figure
The debt, when all is said,
To one who makes you dream again
When all the dreams dead?

Or where is the appraiser
Who shall the claim compute
Of one who makes you sing again
When all the songs were mute?

Jessie Rittenhouse