All About Alchemy

If only I could tell you
what lies within this heart,
describe the coils of passion
so far beyond my art.
If there were words to say it
I wouldn't write them down,
nor you misunderstand them
and cry for this sad clown.
A stammering, gape-mouthed alchemist
turns laughter into tears;
a simple misplaced syllable
arouses needless fears.

But there are other, surer tongues
to tell the tale of love,
explain the chemistry of so below,
as the physical above.