Ballad of the Little Square

In the still night 
the children sing.
Clear stream, 
calm fountain!

   THE CHILDREN
 
What’s in your festive 
godly heart?

                I

A toll of bells 
lost in mist.

   THE CHILDREN

Now you leave us singing 
on the little square, 
clear stream, 
calm fountain!

What do you hold 
in your springtime hands?

                I

A rose of blood 
and a white lily.

   THE CHILDREN

Wet them in the water 
of the ancient song.
Clear stream, 
calm fountain!

What’s in your red 
and thirsty mouth?

                I

The bone-taste 
of my great skull.

   THE CHILDREN

Drink the calm water 
of the ancient song.
Clear stream, 
calm fountain!

Why do you stray so far 
from the little square?

                I

I go in search of sorcerers 
and princesses!

   THE CHILDREN

Who taught you the way 
of the poets?

                I

The stream and the fountain 
of the ancient song.

   THE CHILDREN

Are you going very, very far 
from the sea and the earth?

                I

My silk heart’s 
filled with lights, 
lost bells, 
lilies and bees, 
and I’ll go far,
further than these mountains, 
further than the seas, 
close to the stars 
and I’ll say to Christ,
Lord, give me back 
the child’s soul I once had, 
steeped in legends, 
with the feathered cap 
and the wooden sabre.

   THE CHILDREN

And now you leave us singing 
on the little square, 
clear stream, 
calm fountain!

Huge pupils 
of dried-out fronds, 
wounded by the wind, 
weep for dead leaves.