| So: the candle has passed through a portal
|
| Stayed by a sentry as I try to follow
|
| Changing my cloak to a gown to gain entry
|
| There in the center its bearer awaits
|
| In a circular chamber of doors
|
| Guarded by shadowy forms
|
| There in the middle; |
| a room and a riddle She fades away…
|
| There where she was
|
| A golden bird did appear
|
| Briefly I heard the song of that bird
|
| And then it too disappeared
|
| Traded my cloak for a gown; |
| look around It’s the same as these guardians wear
|
| Faces obscured, still undisturbed With their doors in this circular lair
|
| The silence eventually broke
|
| In one voice, the guardians spoke
|
| There in the middle; |
| a room and a riddle Surrounded thus
|
| «An oath to be sworn and a robe to be worn
|
| Now you’re one of us!»
|
| Sentries and doors!
|
| Guard with your life
|
| Behind each door:
|
| A withered child clutching a knife |