by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892)
The Dark eye has left us
Language: English
The Dark eye has left us,
The Spring-bird has flown;
On the pathway of spirits
She wanders alone.
The song of the wood-dove has died on our shore:
Mat wonck kunna-monee! We hear it no more!
O dark water Spirit!
We cast on thy wave
These furs which may never
Hang over her grave;
Bear down to the lost one the robes that she wore:
Mat wonck kunna-monee! We see her no more!
Of the strange land she walks in
No Powah has told:
It may burn with the sunshine,
Or freeze with the cold.
Let us give to our lost one the robes that she wore:
Mat wonck kunna-monee! We see her no more!
The path she is treading
Shall soon be our own;
Each gliding in shadow
Unseen and alone!
In vain shall we call on the souls gone before:
Mat wonck kunna-monee! They hear us no more!
O mighty Sowanna!
Thy gateways unfold,
From thy wigwam of sunset
Lift curtains of gold!
Take home the poor Spirit whose journey is o'er:
Mat wonck kunna-monee! We see her no more!
So sang the Children of the Leaves beside
The broad, dark river's coldly flowing tide;
Now low, now harsh, with sob-like pause and swell,
On the high wind their voices rose and fell.
Nature's wild music, -- sounds of wind-swept trees,
The scream of birds, the wailing of the breeze,
The roar of waters, steady, deep, and strong, --
Mingled and murmured in that farewell song.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The writings of John Greenleaf Whittier, Volume 1, Boston and New York, Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1888-89, pages 106-107.
Note from Roger Williams's Key for stanzas 1 through 5, line 6: "Mat wonck kunna-monee" = "We shall see thee or her no more."
Note from Roger Williams's Observations, etc. for stanza 5, line 1: "Sowanna" = The Great South West God.
Text Authorship:
- by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892), "Song of Indian women", written 1844 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "The dark eye has left us", op. 45 no. 4 (1901), published 1903 [ voice and piano ], from Six American Lyrics, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-06
Line count: 38
Word count: 246