Page:Bohemian legends and other poems.djvu/172

For the farmer fodder,
That his cows grow sleek.
For the fowls some barley,
Peas then let them seek.

For the fruit trees compost,
Made of pounded bones.
For the one who fasteth,
Lights from other zones.

I, an honest maiden,
With my heart still free,
Fain would see the lover
That will come for me.

Far behind the forest,
Near the little bridge,
Stands a willow ancient,
Snow on tree and ridge.

Willow stooping downward,
Leaning on the ice,
Drooping where the blue sea
Now has turned to ice.

Here they say that maidens,
In the moonlight clear,
May behold their lover,
If they have no fear.

I, who fear no evil,
Will break through the ice.
With an axe I’ll cut it,
Gaze down in the ice.

Deep, deep down they tell me,
In the frozen sea,
I shall see my future,
If I do not flee.