Love Song For Eldera

Now is the star, now is the moon,
Now is the darkness; sleepest thou yet?
Now has the moon drawn from the sea
Her silver-crowded mackerel net,

And she is picking among the catch
For one fish of gold and of scarlet
She can toss to the sun to keep him at bay.
Now is the darkness; sleepest thou yet?

Now is the moon, now is the light,
Now is the nighttime; sleepest thou still?
Now have the stars come out to dance
Their solemn steps upon a high hill,

And they inquire when thou wilt join them,
For thou canst dance light as a rill,
Light as a leaf on her tree in the springtime.
Now is the darkness; sleepest thou still?

Now is the star, now is the night,
Now is the darkness; thou wakest now!
The night’s maids are walking the garden,
And the glowworms they light as they bow

To one another, and to the fine lords
Who kiss them in the shade of a bough
That bears leaves as green as thy eyes.
Now is the darkness; thou wakest now!