"If"

If you were a yellow rose,
I would not pluck you
To watch you wither and die
In a crystal vase.

If you were a jungle cat,
I would not cage you, 
To watch you pace restlessly,
Behind bars of steel.

If you were a soaring bird,
I would not clip your wings.
And watch you sit forlornly
On a treeless branch.

If you were a butterfly,
I would not hold you fast 
And see you crushed helplessly
Within my grasp.

You are my Beloved One.
I will not bind your heart,
Nor try to steal your soul away,
In the name of love.

Written by Patricia DeRose

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