word of the day: clandestine 

the egrets at the lotus pond, snowy cousins of the swan,

dance their moonlit air-ballet — pirouettes and grands jetés,

morphing into men and maids     in their graceful feathered play.

          the duke, concealed by shadow, wades toward the fay affair.

          he greets his lover with a kiss — the danseur egret-heir.

          both men exchange adventures of their gilded autumn days,

          glancing back in case the church espies their secret stay.

                    they hope their tender clandestinity remains this way...