A moment ago we were cleaning the stones
And I turned and I faltered, and now I'm alone
I went round this little bowl three or four times
Now I can't find you, oh where did you go?
A moment ago things had always been so
Our own little castle, our undulant home
A neat little garden of me and of you
A glistening house for a glittering two
Will I forget your shining gold eyes?
My flickering friend, my companion in water
Will I lose sense of your shivering skin?
Your silvery scales as they skirted my own
When we were cleaning the stones
A moment ago I was cleaning the stones
And I turned and I faltered, felt all alone
I wondered if something was missing and then
Corrected myself, then I faltered again
I've been a bachelor all of my life
In this garden so lonely, growing and grand
If I had a friend for all this bounty to share
I would honour her face every hour she was there
And never forget her shining gold eyes
A flickering friend, a companion in water
Never lose sense of that shivering skin
Those silvery scales as they skirted my own
We could go cleaning the stones