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by Kevin John William Crossley-Holland (b. 1941)

Sun and moon
Language: English 
I saw a strange creature,
A bright ship of the air beautifully adorned,
Bearing away plunder beneath her horns,
Fetching it home from foray.
She was minded to build a bower in her stronghold,
And construct it with cunning if she could do so.
But then a mighty creature appeared over the mountain
Whose face is familiar to all dwellers on earth;
He seized on his treasure and sent home the wanderer
Much against her will; she went westward
Harbouring hostility, hastening forth.
Dust lifted to heaven, dew fell on the earth,
Night fled hence; and no man knew
Thereafter where the strange creature had gone.
And the answer: Sun and Moon.

Text Authorship:

  • by Kevin John William Crossley-Holland (b. 1941), "Sun and moon", after the Old English of The Exeter Book. [author's text not yet checked 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 Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "Sun and moon", published 1964, first performed 1963 [ baritone and instrumental ensemble ], from A knot of riddles, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 112

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