The Scoop
The Fairies' Girl
By Mimi Herrmann
The Lord of Light raised up his head
To greet the newborn day
He walked beside the river run
And watched the fairies play.
He dipped his toes in warm wet waves
And walked the beach of pearl
And taught his songs by rote
To his beloved fairies' girl.
My Gwen has hair of russet curls
And her eyes are bright and brown
And her fingers know the secret songs
To draw the dark moon down
I know if I had time enough
To watch the years unfurl
I'd choose to live them by the side
Of my beloved fairies' girl.
The summer sun shone down on them
As they walked along the strand
And the Lord of Light instructed her
In the customs of his land.
A harper she, who'd wandered past
The gates of her own world
And the Lord of Light declared her
His beloved fairies' girl.
My Gwen has hair of russet curls
And her eyes are bright and brown
And her fingers know the secret songs
To draw the dark moon down
I know if I had time enough
To watch the years unfurl
I'd choose to live them by the side
Of my beloved fairies' girl.
A mortal girl could never hope
To find the undying realm
Where the fair folk dance and sing and play
Under beech and ash and elm.
But one brave girl had dared to sleep
At a crossroads overnight
And when she'd woke she found herself
The love of the Lord of Light.
My Gwen has hair of russet curls
And her eyes are bright and brown
And her fingers know the secret songs
To draw the dark moon down
I know if I had time enough
To watch the years unfurl
I'd choose to live them by the side
Of my beloved fairies' girl.
The harper strolled beneath the boughs
Of trees all green and gold
The Lord of Light told all he knew
Of the lands that ne'er grow old
And as he turned to claim his price
She raised her lips to his
And left him with no girl to love
But a single lingering kiss.
My Gwen has hair of russet curls
And her eyes are bright and brown
And her fingers know the secret songs
To draw the dark moon down
I know if I had time enough
To watch the years unfurl
I'd choose to live them by the side
Of my beloved fairies' girl.
The Lord of Light laid down his head
All stricken sore with grief
But though she'd stolen all his lore
He did not name her thief.
"Then let her go," he told his folk,
"To sing into the world
The songs she heard from my own lips --
My beloved fairies' girl."
My Gwen has hair of russet curls
And her eyes are bright and brown
And her fingers know the secret songs
To draw the dark moon down
I know if I had time enough
To watch the years unfurl
I'd choose to live them by the side
Of my beloved fairies' girl.