The Black Swan

The sun has fallen and it lies in blood
The moon is weaving bandages of gold.
O Black Swan
Where, where is my lover gone?
Torn and tattered is my bridal gown
And my lamp is lost.
With silver needles and with silver thread
The stars stitch a shroud for the dying sun.
O Black Swan,
Where, oh, where has my lover gone?
I had given him a kiss of fire
And a golden ring.

Don't you hear your lover moan?
Eyes of glass and feet of stone
Shells for teeth and weeds for tongue.
Deep, deep down in the river's bed
He's looking for the ring.
Eyes wide open, never asleep
He's looking for the ring.

Looking for the ring.

The spools unravel and the needles break
The sun is buried and the stars weep.
O Black Wave, take me away with you!
I will share with you my golden hair
And my bridal crown,
Oh take me down with you.
Take me down to my wandering lover
With my child unborn.

With my child unborn.


~Gian Carlo Menotti,From The Medium