HIGH WINGS

Oh, I am a spacechild.
I was born for the stars.
On bright silver glitterwings
I will journey far.
The ship she's my love,
My song and my home.
I was made by the gods
The spaceways to roam.

I am a starpilot,
Trained and taught
And flight is my life-need
It measures each thought
The space-wind's my joy
Her course is my pride
It's my pleasure and sorrow
The starlanes to ride.

Oh, once I had a lover
But now he is gone:
He could not hear the wild call
That drove me on;
My heart sang in sorrow,
But by then 'twas too late:
I could never return;
He had no cause to wait.

But he waited at dockside
In Radiant's fair town
For my stardancing spaceship
To wing her way down.
He pleaded, saying "Love,
Without you I'll die."
I said not a word,
But looked at the sky.

My love turned and walked
Into the dark heavy night.
His head bent in sorry,
His shoulders hunched in fright.
On the first jump out from Radiant,
A wild, haunting cry
Filled the ship with a death-song
As we soared through the sky.

He'd hidden in the drive room,
Where there's no way to escape,
And no way I would find him,
Til it was too late.
For the drive song's pure beauty,
And the drive's song is death;
My love heard the ship's song
With the last of his breath.

So my ship took my lover,
And now I'm alone
As the gods have ordained it,
The spaceways to roam:
The space wind and the ship's song
Will bear me company
It's a sad life, but joyous,
On the wide, endless sea.