Colloquy
She caught,
with casual raise of the hand,
the zephyr-breeze running through the green field --
tiny stars of daisies spangled the earth;
dew was still on their petals,
and they clustered around her feet --
the birds in the distance discoursed with angels,
who were shining like undying candles,
and she caught another breeze --
And she asked,
"Where is the flower that grants youth without end?"--
"In the gardens of Tapio,
which no mortal may ever see"--
"In the body,
you mean,
but my heart has seen it in dreams"--
"Not even in dreams,
for dreams are reflections in the Sorrowful Lake,
reflections,
and nothing more"--
She bent down to pluck a shining daisy --
the old man,
with thought-like suddenness,
rose into the sky,
the sun gleaming on his ebon wings,
a raven.
