Cliff

Seven days and the winds are calm,
no storms this time of year.
We all pay a price in the end;
halcyon days come dear.

Once there were two loyal lovers
who parted with no fear
so he could make the rising tide;
halcyon days come dear.

They were the envy of the gods,
Ceyx himself had no peer,
Alcyone he thought divine;
halcyon days come dear.

Hera, he flattered her in love;
Zeus, she replied with cheer.
Even the gods above were jealous;
halcyon days come dear.

But even lovers have journeys,
leaving wives behind here,
full of wrath, the gods sent a storm;
halcyon days come dear.

The storm capsized the little ship,
Ceyx called her name once clear
before drowning of his hubris;
halcyon days come dear.

Alcyone waited cliffside.
In a dream she could hear
her husband's shade was lamenting;
halcyon days come dear.

She woke at dawn in deep despair,
her answer all too near -
she threw herself down to her death;
halcyon days come dear.

The gods finally relented:
like dragons to their weyr,
on the sea kingfishers nested -
halcyon days come dear.

For seven days in mid-winter,
the sea is calm and clear,
while the sacred bird is nesting;
halcyon days come dear.




(Pronunciation Note: Properly Ceyx should be "kay-ucks" but everyone says "seecks" instead, so I have preserved the monosyllable here; Alcyone should be "al-kee-oh-nee" or "al-see-oh-nee" or even "al-sigh-oh-nee" [think Hermione] and I have maintained four syllables here also).