Love Song of Night and Day

He (Day) / She (Night)

Slip into your most lovely shoes, your silver crescent pendant.
Come with me to the harbour, where we will stroll until sunrise.
The street performers will whirl with their fires and funny apples,
while the mime perform, and the musician strums gently on his guitar.

And late in the night, the astrologers entertain,
enthrall us with their otherworldly journeys, as we listen, standing by the telescope.
Enchant me with your tale-telling. Tell about Moses, Joshua, and the Promised Land.
Tell why Light must fight with Darkness, and why Light will always win.

I'll sing you a song, which makes my heart pine for you.
The melody is soothing, but the lyrics make me ache in longing.
I’ll paint you a picture, of the glory of the day, or of the beauty of the night.
Sky and earth, plains and oases will fill up the canvas.

I'll write my thoughts in letters and dairies for you, yearning, the only feeling I allow myself.
I'll give you crystal angels, a pearly hand-stitched box to carry them,
adorned with flowery patterns, girded with white ribbons.
These things will comfort you while I'm gone, remind you of my love for you.

Your eyes are like those of angels, keeping a silent vigil over me.
When you play in the field you’re the swift athlete, captivating me with your moves.
Wondrous love, you're a thousand women at once,
sharp and strong as an eagle, yet gentle as an gazelle.

On this our last day together, let us walk across the grasslands.
Hold my hand and let's walk slowly, seeing everything as children.
Let's fly a kite like we always do, at the brink of the city, where the expanse of clouds is unhindered.
Watch its tasseled tails sway in the wind, as it rises higher and higher skyward.

Let us gaze once more, at the nighttime firmament.
While the neighbourhood is quiet, and parents are in bed with their children,
we will lie on our backs in your back yard, taking in the night.
In the Celestial Court high above, Sagittarius seeks to dance with Scorpio, and to then take her home.

* * *

Remember when we were young, we walked home from school together,
singing songs and talking about our dreams. Your silliness
made me laugh, and in the evening, you'd call and enchant me with your stories,
I imagined we were together. Even then my heart was yours.

I remember you befriended me with blitheness. You were so carefree,
so unpretentious, so wild, all tucked-out shirt and frenzied hair. You were a girl,
but now you are a woman. You’re all grown up and thoughtful--
your hair is long, and your lips fuller.

Tomorrow I must go, my love. I will sail with them to the lost nations.
I will bring along your crystal angels so you will always be with me.
Filled with thoughts of you, the stars above the sea will glow like embers.
I will return with stories for you. But do not wait for me.

I am the moon, you are the sun. Whenever you lead I will go,
following across the wide sky, as long as I live and you love.
Moon follows Sun until he tires, then carries him until he’s strong
and runs ahead of her again. I’ll carry you, too, my beloved.

My love, we are not Sun and Moon. Instead we are like day and night.
At dawn and dusk Day spies his love. Across the rolling hills of sky,
They glimpse each other, so briefly. They throw each other kisses, cry.
Until pulled apart from Night, Day sank, commanded by the western horizon that always beckons him to come.

I won’t give up hope, my love.

Our love is like the comet in the cloudless summer sky:
For a little while it burns brightly, its passage drawing a silvery line in the dark.
But soon the comet will be extinguished, its light will fade away. Like Day from Night,
I must live my life apart from you, just glimpsing you across the sky, because you cannot change, my dear, and nor can I.