Flight by Moonlight
I went hunting in the forest where the trees reach to the sky
And the moonlight on the water mirr'rs whatever passes by,
But no matter where I wandered as I hunted through the night,
The enchantress with the silver cloak was always in my sight.
I could see her through the branches as I went along my way,
For her face was bright and lovely though she had no words to say--
An opposing constellation in a sep'rate hemisphere,
She would shine in her own season, but she never would come near.
While at times she pulled her hood back as she watched me from afar
And revealed a dazzling crown of jew'ls, each twinkling like a star,
Still, I mostly saw her face as more in shadow than in light,
Yet, her beauty and her distance only added to my plight.
For I longed so much to greet her and to take her by the arm,
To go walking through the woods with her and keep her safe from harm.
So it happened on one ev'ning as I strode by a lagoon,
She was standing on the shore beneath the glimmer of the moon.
She had just removed her cape to show a stunning slender gown.
She had cast off her tiara; her long hair she had let down.
Then around she turned and smiled at me while offering her hand;
Hence, I reached out to embrace her and to dance upon the sand.
Swaying slowly on the beach within the twilight of the tide,
A great warmth had spread throughout me as I moved with her and sighed,
And then suddenly she fainted and collapsed onto the ground.
With another blink, I realized she was nowhere to be found.
As with venom from a scorpion I soon was filled with pain.
I could sense a storm impending, though I saw no snow or rain--
Not the falling of the weather but the sorrow from my eyes
Had sent ripples all along her body, piercing the disguise.
On my knees and all alone, save for the nocturne leaf and frond,
I reflected on my lunacy in leaning o'er the pond;
Once my tears swelled from a single drop to deep, cathartic streams,
The enchantress with the silver cloak then faded from my dreams.
