Once in a royal kingdom,
From a noble line in days of old
There lived a beautiful maiden.
No other child was born to her parents,
And a wonder for her years,
She was the Virgin among the Saints,
The moon among stars.
From the stately arch's dark shadow
She guides her steps to a corner
Where, through the open window
The Evening Star awaits her.
There she watches out to sea
How he rises and shines,
Pulling his dark ships silvery
Trails on watery plains.
That night she stares, and each night after,
With longing at the sky above,
And he in turn each night sees her
And slowly falls in love.
As she cradles her arm to pillow her brow
She is lost in dreaming,
Both her heart and her soul now
Cry out with deepest longing.
And every night whenever he saw her
This gentle star would kindle
When she appeared he was set afire
Upon the shadow of the black castle.
***
And step by step he follows her
Into the room then glides
To weave there with his cold fire
A spider's web of blaze.
And when the girl is ready to sleep,
He touches the hand on her breast,
Then softly closes her eyelids to keep
Those sweet eyes at rest.
And from the mirror the light poured
Down on her body like a stream
On large eyes pulsing and closed,
On her face turned towards him.
She smiled and seemed to gaze at him
As he trembled through the mirror
For he plunged deeper into her dream
To claim her soul forever.
While talking to this dream of light,
She whispered, sighing deeply,
"Come down, sweet lord, star of my night
Why don't you come? Be near me!
Descend now from the sky, sweet Lord,
Gliding to earth from night,
Come to my room, and to my mind,
To flood my life with light."
While he listened, still flickering
His light was growing stronger,
Then just like a flash of lightning
Sank deep into the water.
And the dark sea where he had fallen
Revolved and gently surged
Until a young, handsome man
Majestically emerged.
Adorned with weeds from the sea,
He came to the window and climbed
Over the ledges lightly.
With his long, soft, golden hair,
He seemed a young emperor,
With a bluish shroud held there
By a clasp on his bare shoulder.
And pale as wax was the fine skin
In his translucent grace,
With bright eyes that sparkled in
A handsome dead man's face.
"It was hard to leave my silent sphere
In answer to your prayer,
For the sky is my father here,
And the sea, my mother.
I descended so I could enter your room
And gaze closely upon you,
From the water I was reborn
And left tranquility for you.
Oh, come back with me, my treasure,
Put your world aside!
I am that eternal star,
And you shall be my bride.
I'll take you to coral palaces
An eternity you'll stay
While all the ocean's creatures
Will promise to obey."
"You're as handsome as the angel
Of my dreams, it's true,
But on that path sweet nobleman
I cannot follow you;
Your garments and speech have a strangeness
And your eyes fill me with dread,
For they gleam while still lifeless
I am alive, you are dead."
***
LuceafărulEnglish translation by Brenda Walker
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