Blackbird Sonnets

Sonnet I
How shall I fly when feathers be not mine
Though all my wishes skyward do attend?
How tie my wounded heartstrings safe to thine
So thou to me, like sun to moon, descend?
Or if thou wilt not bend thy starry frame,
Wishing to keep thy brow o'ercrowned with mist,
I'll rise so that thy place shall stay the same
But will not then depart from heights unkiss'd.
For bargains may be struck and kept with pride
When lovers from their just demands ne'er hide.

Sonnet II
My lover’s eyes are darker than the moon
Or are they brighter? I cannot decide.
His tender voice makes other’s out of tune
And shows me how I cannot them abide
His movements are of more than feline grace
His hands are soft and pale as ivory
And though I’ve rarely seen a stranger face,
More perfect looks I should abhor to see
For others may be pleasanter in part
But all my love remains a work of art.

Sonnet III
How is it that I smile when I am sad?
From what resource do I derive this strength?
I've lost none but a thing I never had
To keep it would I go to any length
But distance is not measured in a heart
So I could weep and say that I've been wronged
And yet, as ever, be so far apart
From him to whom I swore that I belonged
Alas, I blame as though he were untrue
I loved him but, poor fool, he never knew.

Sonnet IV
If all you love I am, as I am quite,
Then why dost thou not love? Dost thou not see
A plainly perfect match? If thou art bright,
Then why, when thou dost love, love'st thou not me?
Instead preferring someone far removed
From all you claim to most admire? I would
Commit you as a lunatic if proved
Thus mad you were my ward for your own good.
And yet I'm making light of my own pain
Because I finally love, yet love in vain.