The Raven's Eye

How many times must the raven’s eye pass
Upon this day of death, alas
My eyes of blue, of fresh sorrow I weep
For in another’s arms my lover doth sleep
This the raven’s eye hath shone to me
And left me alone in my misery
To cry and bleed my pain afresh
A victim to the weakness of flesh
The raven has triumphed over the dove
And thus my death over my love
No more mornings in the arms of delight
Only mourning alone in eternal night
Doomed to follow the scars of time
The punishment of a lover’s crime
For by raven’s wings I may flee
Across the land and to the sea
The grave of which I was born
And by fate from which I was torn
And kneeling there upon the shore
A wandering gypsy wandering no more
I might cast off the pain of love
And send it quickly to rest above
As I slip down among the waves
Among the tides and unmarked graves
Sinking into the fathomless deep
To rest forever in dreamless sleep
With the last of my breath I pray
That my lover’s eyes see not another day