A Lone Evening with Debussy (Old Version)

Such tender strains do greet my ear,
Wafting in gentle waves through still night air.
Caressing me, taunting my spirit.
A phantom maiden's spirit kiss.

Such fragile beauty plaintively beckons
A lonely dreamer weep and listen.
For eyes seldom blessed by a lovely woman's gaze,
Must turn to ears to steal a kiss from grace.

Oh, how I wish a special one were here
To share this feeling with me,
To dream together, to be lost together,
Far from the baying of the hounds of Fate.

But I am alone, alone as always.
My soul is trapped in gilded cage,
I dream alone, I listen alone.
Who could fathom my strange emotion?
Joyful sadness. Bittersweet bliss.
The Frenchman must have known it,
On such nights as this,
When he penned the strains to rival woman's charm.

George Chadderdon © 1991