SONG OF THE MOON

The moon came to the forge
with her bustle of nards.
The boy watches the sight.
The boy is watching her.

In the trembling air
the moon moves her arm
and lewd and pure shows
her breasts of hard tin.

"Run Moon, Moon, Moon.
If the gypsies came
they would twist your heart
into chains and rings of white."

"Boy, let me dance.
When the gypsies come,
they'll find you on the anvil,
fast asleep."

"Run Moon, Moon, Moon,
because I hear their horses now."
"Boy, leave my whiteness
unmarred."

The rider approached
tapping his tamborine.
Inside the forge was the boy,
with his eyes closed.

Through the olive grove they came,
all bronze and dreams, the gypsies.
Their heads lifted up,
their eyes half-shut.

"How the owl sings, Ay!
how the tawny owl sings in the tree!"
Through the sky the moon takes
the boy by the hand.

Inside the forge, the gypsies
cry and give shouts.
The wind guards, it guards.
The wind is guarding it.

–Federico García Lorca