Rootless

The Gypsy wagon

Beneath the stars,

In bright colors painted,

Creaks through the night.

The mother hushes her child

And sings of her youth:

The mother's past,

The daughter's future.

Her voice rises in the dusty darkness

As the wagon moves on:

"I am a wandering Gypsy girl,

Dark of eye and full of curl,

When Gypsy cards are cast

The Fool falls first, and Death the last.

The sky's my roof, the Earth my bed

When I stop dancing, I'll be dead.

Rootless, I fly, above you all,

While you shun flight, and fear the fall.

When I stand still, I hear the call,

And then I'm traveling on.

Richer than duke, or prince, or earl,

I am the wandering Gypsy girl,

I make my home in all the world,

And never sleep 'neath flag unfurled."

The mother sighs, and shifts into sleep,

As the painted wagon creaks rhythmically on into the night.