In Homage to the Destiny-Maker

Like young ravens on the wing,
There rise again the songs of spring.
But above all the ending of cold,
His hands never faltering though they are old
As the world is old, and more,
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The picture of the world is bright and clear,
And shows scenes that are far from here,
Scenes beyond the Daldona Mountain Chain,
Scenes of birth and death and pain,
Joy and laughter and grief and more;
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The fruit of summer is heavy and ripe,
And the ilyan flower is full in stripe.
But above all the songs of summer,
Beyond song of flautist and of drummer,
Song of harpist and bard and more,
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The picture of the world is soft with sorrow,
And no day is ever just like tomorrow.
But the Destiny-Maker paints them all blue,
And gold, and green, and hues bleeding through
Into a life that is joyful, and more.
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The crops are swaying in the fields,
And our bellies are full of autumn's yields.
But above all the gladness of fall,
As if he never paid heed to them at all,
Or perhaps never paid heed to them any more,
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The picture of the world places everyone
In the light of the full moon or sun,
Or in the fields, or dying or dead in battle,
Does it without a falter, without a rattle,
Decides when we see the sun no more.
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The ice is reddening each unbound ear,
And winter is come to end the year.
But above all the songs of winter,
Above the cattle's lowing and ice-splinter,
Above frostbite and bears and more,
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The picture of the world will bring the light
Down upon the other side of night,
And illumine those who seek rebirth,
The flood of souls that return to earth,
The stillborn who are cast forth, and more.
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.

The colors are clear and bright in spring,
Blazing when summer is on the wing,
Bursting and bleeding in the fall,
Cold and dark when winter covers all,
And beyond our lives, still more.
The Destiny-Maker paints on as before.