CRANE SONG

Ah,
White cranes with long red legs
Soar northward through the empty sky.
Their cry of greeting shakes the cold air,
But they fly on and do not stop here.
What are the winds that carry them?
They leave behind their warm blue lakes,
Warm breezes, green canopies of trees,
As they abandon jeweled palaces in the South.
What are the winds that carry them?

Ah
White cranes with long red legs
Soar Northward through the empty sky.
Their cry of greeting shakes the cold air,
But they fly on and do not stop here.
They fly to the frozen steppe beside a frozen sea.
There beneath a silver sky,
They will raise their wings and long red legs in dance
And draw the spring up through the ice.
Who showed them this ancient dance?

Ah
White cranes with long red legs
Soar northward through the empty sky.
Their cry of greeting shakes the cold air,
But they fly on and do not stop here.
What are the winds that carry them?

Faithful to the cycles of what enduring love,
Why do they call to me?
Who taught them this ancient song?

***************************************************************************************

This song is from 'Crossings on A Bridge of Light' which recounts Gesar King of Ling's voyage to save his mother from the bonds of hell. It is dedicated with love to Deborah Marshall.

The full text will be published next month by Mill City Press and will be available at Amazon.com.