Waxwing, waxwing, what do you bring From the frozen North? Waxwing, waxwing, we've been waiting on you
I bring the amber that I have gathered On the northern seashore For the hatchlings I have fathered for thee
I've been underground where wyverns are bound And where gold and jewels are found These I hoarded under my barry-brown wing
We have no need, no need of your amber Likewise your gold and your jewels-- There is no true beauty in things of no use
Waxwing, waxwing, my only asking: Tether the braces so cruel Keep my young well-feathered and their bellies full
And waxwing, waxwing, what will you do When your days of fathering are through When at last grim Death comes a'knocking on you?
I can do nothing but fly in the wake of my kin I will soar onward undaunted and die on the wing I'll die in the canyon of echoes; you'll still hear me sing And still I will give to you all the things I bring