Encounter in Cuivienen

He strode in silence through misty meadows
Where fountains flowed through fields of yellow flowers
And suddenly stopped - and stood stock still -
And stared ahead
-- behold, a maiden there --
-- asleep, or dead. --

Not dead, but dreaming, for she stirred in her sleep
And breathed deep breaths of silent slumber
And looked so like a very vision
Of the dawning night
-- when sleepers rose --
-- as yet unstained by time. --

But her features flexed in a dreaming dance
And she cried and she called as from pity and pain
And she tossed and turned as if nightmares rode her
On an endless ride
-- from which none return --
-- on the tossing back of time. --

He found his flute, and a soothing song
Softly sounded through the eery air
Like a spirit singing of light and life
Undying
-- over mortal lands --
-- which it blew past crying. --

Her eyes came open and she sat with a sigh
As if silence and stillness were protection from pain.
'Who are you?' he asked, and she stared astonished
As if her name
-- had run away wild --
-- and would not be tamed. --

Since she knew no name, he found one for her:
The Shining Spirit, Fèhaglin the Fair.
Though her history was hidden, when in dark dreams
She cried
-- her voice was the voice --
-- of a Noldorin maid. --

He would never know how she came to Cuivienen:
Whether fleeing fear; or witlessly wandering;
Or - finding form at last - a soul ensorceled
Returning to rest
-- in the womb of its waking, --
-- not the light of the West. --

But she stood and she smiled and she held out her hand
And danced with delight in the mist-ridden meadows.
And he stood and he smiled and held her hand
And danced with delight
-- in the mist-ridden meadows --
-- golden with light. --