IMMORTAL BIRD
(Words and Music by Beth Wheeler)
Inspired by a reference in Judith Tarr's Alamut and The Dagger and the Cross
3/31/06
C G F Em
Within the wood, amidst the trees
Am C G
Beloved one, you rode at dawn
Am C F E
My heart fell victim to your face
Am C G
So young, so fair against the morn.
Am C F C
I came to you in mortal mask
Am C E
A spirit formed of wind and flame
Am G F Em
And bore you children for your house
Am C G Am
Your royal lineage to claim.
C G F Am
Immortal bird in jesses caught
C G F Em
While passion wars with freedom’s lure
Am G F E
Still yearning for that tangled wood
Am C F Em Am
Must power’s blood or love abjure.
I followed you into the world
Though magic bled from me like grief
Became your queen in songbird dress
And shared your mortal moments brief.
And though I loved our children three
Our youngest daughter, worldly fair
I bore my twin sons with my own
Enchanted eyes and midnight hair.
Immortal bird in jesses snared
Tethered to her perch of stone
Dreams her dreams of verdant power
Mated, singing, yet alone.
Through those years as queen and wife
My magic tombed in earthen guise
That spellbound wood yet called to me
And green leaves bloomed behind my eyes.
Denied in power, place, and sight
My heart broke free and burst the cage
And taking wing, I blew away
From mortal care and human age.
Immortal bird from jesses loosed
Still timelessly awaits the day
When clad as sons, my love returns
And mortal memories fade away.
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