Долгая Ночь по лесам
Бросила саван-туман.
Мне ль плыть по тёмной по воде,
Встречному глянуть в глаза?
Я торопилась домой
В замок отцов за рекой,
Лодка, гляжу, меня ждёт -
Кормщик сказал - подвезёт.
Солнца луч тонет в волне,
Спутал путь кормчий во тьме,
Возле чужого костра
Ночь провела до утра.
А поутру меня мать
Гонит, не хочет узнать:
С нею сидит за столом
Некто в обличье моём.
Явь или навь - не поймёшь,
В Долгой Ночи пропадёшь,
Ты в путь пойдёшь по воде,
Встречному глянешь в глаза…
“Since olden days people have been afraid of unknown. According to the legends, there are only a few days in the year when the verge between our world and the other world becomes very thin. And then the creatures from the other side can easily "come visit us". This is associated with some folk beliefes and prohibitions that when you break them a person can meet with something otherwordly or, conversely, switch places with a ghost. This is exactly what happened to our song's hero. What do you do if you come back home after some trip on the evening before the celebration of the Dark Gates of the Year? You'd better to wait out the approaching night in safety, but you are very eager to get back home. So you are making deal with the boatman and swim across the river under the cover of twilight. And surely nothing good comes of it. The boat goes off course and you have to pass the night by a stranger's fire, where someone unknown are having fun. And at morning you find your double in you own home, where everyone else thinks him is you and you are not allowed to enter and not being recognized.” Mare Mirkie
