XXI THE MOON WITH EYES OF BLUE
Mitchell S. (Mitchell Starrett) Buck translation
THE night mingles with the hair of women and the branches of the willows. I walked at the edge of the water. Suddenly I heard singing; then only I knew I was there with young girls.
I said to them: “To whom do you sing?” They replied: “To those who return.” One awaited her father, another her brother; but she who awaited her lover was the most impatient.
They had woven for themselves crowns and garlands cut from the branches of palms and lotos drawn from the water. They rested their arms on each other’s necks and sang one after another.
I moved along the river, saddened and all alone, but in looking about me I saw that, behind the great trees, the moon with eyes of blue was guiding me.