The Weaver's Song - Carmen Sylva

Fly, shuttle, fly,
At the war my boy must die,
My daughter's betrayed and cast aside,
My wife is gone, of shame she died,
Fly, shuttle, fly.

Speed, shuttle, speed,
No food in our bitter need.
My daughter's child cries out for bread.
They will lay me soon in the cold dark bed,
Speed, shuttle, speed.

Rest, shuttle, rest,
Oh, the weight on my breast.
Frosty the pane, and cold the blast,
The fire 's out, darkness closes fast,
Rest, shuttle, rest.

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Carmen Sylva (literary name of Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise zu Wied, Queen of Romania (1843–1916) Romania
Translated by Lois Saunders
Source: Strangers and foreigners being translations from the French, Italian, German and Middle High German : done into English verse, Lois Saunders, Elkin Mathews, 1912