Summer Rider

 Summer rider, summer rider,
Though we travel in the wilderness
We will not depart in sadness,
Mourning for a lost illusion,
Always shining in the distance,
Shining only in the distance.

We will wander this empty land,
Seeking the hidden breeding-grounds
Where the white swans marshal at season’s end
To make their journey to the distant sea.
And if we winter on their nesting-place,
Guarding their future generations,
Then when they take their northward flight,
Hearing our names in their graceful cries,
We will know them for our children.

1990