I took the path of silence and of black night
The sunlit world was far behind me
The grass swayed gently in the moonlight
And trees were tall, and starry sky
And yet all these I could not see.
On withered leaves and mossy roots I walked
Deeper and deeper into the kingdom of dark
Under my feet the land and grass did talk
Of wonder and of magic and far up
I heard a mighty hawk chasing a lark.
The merciless hunter caught his prey
My heart felt sorrow for the mocking bird
But soon I heard his plea. He said: "Today,
Oh, mighty hawk, thy children will have food
Before I die, I'll make my secrets heard.
A home I have not, like thee
Nor mate, nor children to be fed
I am but a wanderer from tree to tree
And through the trees I found one day
A place where all the dark tales led.
There was a crypt and there were stones
Scattered around, decaying in the rain
Under the cold lid were the rotting bones
Of creatures now unknown; and motionless as them
A statue stood up tall, guardian of that unhappy plain.
If you will all these to thy children say
And bid them when they are all grown
To go to that sad place some day
Oh, hawk, thy prey will not have died in vain!
Thou will not see thy kingdom overthrowned."
The hawk did listen to the lark
But in the end it was in vain
A cry was heard into the dark
And the father took home the game
Its story he wiped off like drops of rain.
And yet, the words of that lark I could not forget
For they were haunting words, tormenting to the heart
And brain like daggers; nor could I let
One creature's dying words fade into the night.
And to the place they spoke of I wanted to depart.
For long a time, I wandered through the night
It never dawned, and I had but one guide
The moon, whose scarce and pale light
Shone high above me. Entrust this messenger
I did, to lead me to the other side.
And then, the fire-flies appeared
Small stars on earth, blessings in darkness
Beings of light which I hold dear
My eyes beheld them, my heart rejoiced
My hands embraced them in a warm caress.
The forest gllitered like a ceremony square
In ruined citadels of ancient times
And they flew closer. I became aware
Of their true selves. Not insects, fairies
Who chanted secret songs and humming rhymes.
The Elves of Light, showing themselves to me
Dancing before my eyes, with colourful wings
Of butterflies. They chased away the darkness from the trees
And bid me come with them, and so I did
It's known that fairies know forbidden things.
I spoke to them about the lark, they knew
Too well, the place described by him
And took me there, through the forest dew
Through leaves and bush and there I found
Myself one day, there where the light is always dim.
The fairies now had gone to sleep
And I alone stood there, in the shade
Witness to the secrets that cemetery keeps
In ancient graves and solitary crypts
In mausoleums that never a man's hand had made.
It was a sad and secluded place
Where death was floating in the air
Easy I saw that here there had been no trace
Of Life for centuries. The plain was large
With spirits of those that had been burried there.
I saw the crypt, with creaking door
Moss covered walls, and puddles made by rain
Which trembled gently on the marble floor
Like drops of blood. The wind blew hard
Above it all, like distant cries of pain.
Enter the crypt I needed not to do
For there in front, on a pedestal of stone
The statue stood, how beautiful and frightening too
A token of its sculptor's skill, who carved
In night-black granit what was flesh and bone.
I thought "This sculptor man could not have been
I trust it strongly to be so
For such a creature a man has never seen
Or such a place, where it is built,
Under a starry sky and bitter woe."
Indeed it did not represent a man
Or animal or bird that a man knows
It was a beast so strange, I barely can
Describe. But wonderful it was no less
More beautiful than the most beautiful of souls.
Five times as tall as me, so high
It rose above the branches of the trees
Its mighty forehead seemed to touch the sky
It was half hawk - half lion, a griffin that
I heard of in legends from beyond the seas.
It seemed to slumber on its granit stone
With wings that were leaning to the ground
And yet, it looked as if it stood on a throne
Of power. Its beak was curved, its eyes were cold
And stems of poison ivy grew around.
"Oh, lark!" I sighed. "I wonder why
It was that thou was so entreating
To bring souls here, even while thou died.
I am too late, and anyone would be
For here, even worms have stopped their feasting."
My thoughts had filled me with despair
There I was and powerless as a lamb I stood
I couldn't find the secrets that were there
Until there was a miracle, and the griffin
It came to life to show me that I could.
A veil of light flooded the plain
The granit griffin it embraced
It played with me a magic game
It blinded me and made me close my eyes
And then it disappeared with no trace.
The blackness of the statue with it fled
And now before me a living breathing being
Stood up, his feathers white and his eyes sad
Lion fur golden and a golden beak
And eyes of emerald, awake from dreaming.
"Oh, wonder!" I cried. "Thing of undying might
What art thou, and what enchanted story
Didst thou come from? Art thou a child of the light
Or has Mother Darkness spawned thee too
Like many others so that she would have her glory?"
His beak bent down to meet me
His wings flapping up towards the stars
He seemed to answer to my warm entreaty
He cried out loud and laughed with human voice
And spoke of things which marked his soul like scars.
"I thank thee now" he said. "Before today
No human steps ever fell upon these lands.
Thou art my saviour and my prey.
Art thou not afraid of my inhuman face
Of the cursed garden that before thee stands?"
"I want thy story for my heart
My fears I will now forget.
I implore thee now, pray thee, please start!"
"For me I'll tell thee all" he said.
"Legend of how my fate I met.
There was a kingdom by the sea
Where griffins ruled with unmatched power
Where trace of human being could not be
Because we were at war with all man kind
And thought about it every waking hour.
We were, it's true, a wicked kind.
Our country gave us riches and fat soil
And yet only one thing was on our minds:
The hunt, which drove us to the edge
And made us our lovely country spoil.
For since the first time a griffin's beak shed blood
The sin that came upon us was so thick
And black and evil like a brimstone cloud
But also sweet was every prey
Oh, divine taste of human flesh inside my beak!
And in that kingdom, I was one
Like no other was. It is true
I was the royal family's first son
But I was also first in line of chase
Of all the cruel beings I was the most cruel.
Oh, humans like thee I have slain
I drank their blood and cracked their bones
I watched them twist and writhe in pain
And I delighted in each horrid game
Returning then in safety to our gilded domes.
And so it went, until one day
While flying through the silver heights of sky
My eye caught sight of a most lovely prey
A maiden on a meadow
To this most wanted prize immediately did I fly.
Her beauty did my senses wake
So innocent and unexpecting of the beast's
Attack. I watched her long a time, but I did take
In the end what I was longing for.
And untill then she never knew the least.
Oh, monster that I am! I fed
On that young body and it was sweet as dew
That honey flowing thorugh her made me mad
She sighed but once, and then she died
To me this all was nothing new.
I took the flower band that she was wreathing
And with it my monstruous head adorned
And breathing the same air she had been breathing
Thinking not twice about the devilish deed
To my domain on sea shore I returned.
And many days went by, and from my mind
The image of the maiden took its leave
I lived in wicked happiness among my kind
And many humans killed, and did things
I dare not speak of, for way to sorrow they do give.
But fear not, human, for as strong as we
Were, one thing was much stronger
And now we know that evil is not free
To have its wretched will
And came the day when our strength was strong no longer.
He came to me, on Moon rays cold
A stranger at my chamber door
He was as old as time, and yet did not look old
A Sorcerer with alabaster face
He waved his hand - my kingdom was no more!
I understood too late what I had done
The one deed which brought my people to its end.
The Sorcerer's bride, the maiden was now gone
On that meadow of green, where my hunger
Led me to some horrind deed I could not mend.
"Oh, wait!" I did implore. It was in vain
Like me, he knew not mercy or compassion
"Oh, wretched being, thou has brought me pain!"
He said. "And pain thou will now feel!"
He swore, his face so cold and ashen.
"I punish thee because of her" he said
"Because I cared not more for any being
She was the one who shared with me her bed
And home, and life, and love, and breath
And every other thing that she was seeing."
Thus, he cursed us with a deadly curse
And they all died from reasons unrevealed
My fellow griffins. But for me the worst
Fate the Sorcerer kept
And thus the griffin's destiny was sealed.
He let my brothers rest in creepy tombs, while I
Received a granite coat for my pale feathers
Forever silent guardian, I could not die
Nor move, but all around me I could hear and see
And even feel the changing whims of weather.
"Here thou shalt remain" the Sorcerer cried
"Until one of the kind you prey on
Will come to thee. And if thou thinks this mild,
Think twice, for I shall put you there
Where no man's child ever will have gone!"
And gone he was. And I stood here
As I stand now in front of thee
For centuries, and in this time it was all cleared
I thought of my dark ways, of my mistakes,
And came to think that this was meant to be.
Now I rejoice, for now that thou have come
By what means or what faith I am not sure
The spell is now un-cast, the curse is gone
Into the silence of my death I shall rest
And there, with senses dead, I shall endure."
"Thou has just come to life" I cried
"And thou already want to leave?
Until today I did not know of thee, yet if thou shalt die
I'll mourn thee like thou art my kin
Like widows their dead husbands grieve."
"Nay! hold me not! for if I stay
My fate will be even sadder still
I know that I'll return to my old way
And thou shalt have the maiden's fate
And all the sacred meditations of these years I will kill!"
In saddness then I sighed and said "Farewell,
Enchanted creature, I will forget thee not
Fly on thy wings to Heaven, not to Hell.
Here I remain, a witness to thy pain
Much marveled at thy beauty without spot."
The Griffin took his leave and flew
So high, towards the stars which the sky lit,
The lion-bird beheld them, and he knew
They were his absolution, and so he joined them
Meeting the end he wanted so to meet.
And I alone on that deserted plain again
Did think in silence, and felt pitty
For the Griffin, because the ways of men
Are far the worse. And for crime he did pay
And so did this most unhappy city.
"Oh, lark!" I thought "Now do I understand
Thy strange request and thy pathetic biding
Merciful crature, that ilness sought to mend
Thou felt the way I did and thus
Decided that thou would try to stop their grieving.
I thank thee, messenger of hope
A friend like thee should any creature have
And tied together be it with chains or silky rope
We would be strong and safe and warm
And stick together from the cradle to the grave.
But thou art gone, and should the hawk
That took thy life suffer a bitter fate
Just like the griffin? Of these I cannot talk
For I know now that everything that selfish people do
Is punished only when the selfless are their prey.
Goodbye to thee, oh lark, and griffin!"
And with these words I turned and gone
Behind me morning dew was kissing
The grassy plain and cold stones and from
The boundaries of this eternal night did dawn the Sun.