The Call of Faerie
There is a voice in the darkness; I hear it.
I thought it had abandoned me, there at the last.
The horns of Elfland, that voice, or something near it.
I thought the nightmares were gone with the past.

You say you cannot hear it, but you are not cursed.
It is I who am afflicted with hearing beyond
What any mortal should be given. I must fear the worst
Every time I look into the depths of a pond,

Or see the fall of a leaf through the air,
Or hear the song of birds in the spring.
I never know when the leaf will turn too weirdly fair,
Or the song of birds become- that other thing.

Everything around me stands in bright sun,
But I look at it from behind a veil of night.
Perhaps I should simply slit my wrists and have done.
But along with the darkness, I would lose light.

I would lose the light of the sun in our heavens.
Surely for that I can endure Elfland's skies?
I would lose the stars when they rise in their sevens.
Surely for them I can endure knowing where Fairyland lies?

Surely I can endure the aurora's changing flare,
And the deep green of forests wide and wild with trees.
Surely I can endure the sweetness of the mint-scented air,
And the wind in the morning, when it comes from the seas.

Surely I can endure the vales rich and thick
With purple heather and green grass, and sunset's 
    reflection
In pool and waterfall, though of beauty I am sick,
And Elfland awakens only more hunger for perfection.

But I fear the sound of horns, and the elvish voice sweet
That speaks to me out of moonlight and shadow.
If ever I can hear the sound of swift dancing feet,
And not only the music that guides them, then I must go.

There is envy in your eyes. You do not understand!
I was born human, and yet I cannot sever
The ties that bind me both to Earth and Elfland.
I must lose something of myself forever.

I had made my choice- I did make it, you see.
The music that beckons me is sweet and divine,
But it comes from my nightmares, and it terrifies me.
I had taken those darkening dreams as a sign,

A sign that I was not meant for the country of dreams,
Whatever the face that to me out of thin air appears,
Whatever the soft laughter that is more than it seems,
Whatever the longing that makes my heart bleed tears.

There was enough beauty in my own world, I thought.
I had no need of the high and the tragic,
No need of the sorrows that the old legends wrought,
And over all, above all, I had no need for magic.

But the magic came seeking me, as I feared.
It laughed when I tried to face it in the day,
As it had done the first night it appeared.
The magic encircled me, and whispered, "Come away.

"Come away to wild hills, wild forests, and fountains
That sing in voices unmatched by any Earth bird.
Come away to the enchanted slopes of distant blue 
    mountains,
Whose streams speak their name in a single silvery word.

"Come away to something that in this world has died,
Something you have yearned for all your life long.
Your heart has made its choice, and will not be denied.
It was too late when you heard the first notes of elfsong.

"The elves do not steal children, but they do call home
Those who must come to them, to die and be reborn.
They claim none unwilling, but they do claim their own.
You belong to the realm of phoenix and unicorn.

"Come away, come away. You do not understand.
It matters not your humanity, your blood or your birth.
You have chosen the magic; you are of Elfland.
Come away, elven child, no longer of Earth."

I have fought the last battle, fought the good fight,
But I can struggle no longer, though bitter my fear.
The magic is coming to claim me tonight.
I can struggle no longer- what is that I hear?

The silvery sound of elven horns, and of a harp,
The sound of soft laughter, sweet-voiced and low.
The longing will fracture my soul, it is so sharp.
I hear those sounds, and I know I must go.

Tell them, if you will, who have listened so patiently,
That they did not drive me away; it was something
Within my own heart; that magic has touched me,
And claimed me for its own- Hear the bells ring!

Sweet alien voices, and the ringing of bells!
They are holding a horse for me, of silver and gray.
The magic was right; I must go. Farewell!
A swift handclasp, a quick embrace, and I am away.

I drop over the window, and into the night,
And walk through the shadows to where my people wait.
The sweet voices murmur welcome, and a cloak of moonlight
Is cast about my shoulders, and I cannot hate.

I mount the horse, and we begin the long ride.
Light glows in the darkness, the dawn of Faerie.
We cross the threshold, and a shimmering tide
Of bells shakes the air, and the elves sing to me.