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Text
I. The Clown
English source:
Maurice Baring
There was once a poor clown all dressed in white,
And chained to the dungeon bars ;
And he danced all day, and he danced all night,
To the sound of the dancing stars.
"O clown, silly clown, O why do you dance ?
You know you can never be free.
You are tied by the leg to the strings of chance,
Yet you dance like a captive flea."
"My chain is heavy, my cell is dark,
I know I can never be free.
In my heart, in my heart there's a dancing spark,
And the stars make music for me.
"Oh ! muffle my cell and rivet my chains,
And fetter my feet and my hands,
My soul is a horse of foam without reins
That dances on deathless sands."
And chained to the dungeon bars ;
And he danced all day, and he danced all night,
To the sound of the dancing stars.
"O clown, silly clown, O why do you dance ?
You know you can never be free.
You are tied by the leg to the strings of chance,
Yet you dance like a captive flea."
"My chain is heavy, my cell is dark,
I know I can never be free.
In my heart, in my heart there's a dancing spark,
And the stars make music for me.
"Oh ! muffle my cell and rivet my chains,
And fetter my feet and my hands,
My soul is a horse of foam without reins
That dances on deathless sands."
