Ode of Nightfall

Beneath the firs I stood alone With frost upon my sleeve I heard thy song through birch and stone Too sweet for me to leave The moon hung pale above the lake Like silver on a blade And every note my heart would take Was every vow I made O nightingale, stay near Sing low into my ear For all I touch grows faint And all I love must fade Sweet bird, remain with me Let fleeting hours run free I longed in a breath I held thee against death Sweet bird, remain with me I saw thy shadow in the youth A tremble, a branch of spring in midnight dew A bloom too kind to try Thy voice was like a hidden spring In halls of winter stone It made the old pine branches sing And left me more alone Nightingale, draw near Before the dark grows clear For what is held too tight Becomes a winter prayer Sweet bird, remain with me Let fleeting hours run free I longed in a breath I held thee against death Sweet bird, remain with me Yet if thy road must lead Beyond the alders Take all my unripened grief And scatter it with leaves For I would rather ache Than never have thy name A little flame that cannot stay Yet warm the same Sweet bird, remain with me Let fleeting hours run free I longed in a breath I held thee against death Sweet bird, remain with me O tend, guide, be kind Live warm, bright, live free But death, sweet bird, remain with me