Antigone (A Ballad)
As the night was wrapping Thebes,
With the silence already butchered by hidden crickets,
Facing the city wall rested the corpse,
The body of the dead Polynices,
Silvered by the light of the moon.
The armed guards were watching it,
As the decree of the king
Was that it shall not be buried.
The night was swallowing Thebes.
After the moon had set
You came alone in the dark, Antigone,
You came to carry your dead brother,
To carry his corpse to the grave.
A sandstorm first rose hope your deed may be hidden
Alas, the heavens were determined
It should be revealed.
This moral obligation, Antigone,
You finally executed
With all the might of your conviction,
Against the strict order of your uncle, the king.
You were young, Antigone, very young,
Your life was with full songs of hope
You always chanted,
Until your resolution to bury your brother,
Until you opted for death.
You were young, Antigone, very young,
You were in love, Antigone, and beloved,
Betrothed to Haemon, the royal prince,
But you cast behind your happiness
By standing up against that order
Which was a sacrilege of your faith,
So the cave of fate opened its mouth
And you there were swallowed to death.
Oh Antigone, Antigone,
With such devotion, Antigone
You fulfilled your obligation, Antigone,
Young and old mourn you, Antigone:
Oh Antigone, Antigone.
With the silence already butchered by hidden crickets,
Facing the city wall rested the corpse,
The body of the dead Polynices,
Silvered by the light of the moon.
The armed guards were watching it,
As the decree of the king
Was that it shall not be buried.
The night was swallowing Thebes.
After the moon had set
You came alone in the dark, Antigone,
You came to carry your dead brother,
To carry his corpse to the grave.
A sandstorm first rose hope your deed may be hidden
Alas, the heavens were determined
It should be revealed.
This moral obligation, Antigone,
You finally executed
With all the might of your conviction,
Against the strict order of your uncle, the king.
You were young, Antigone, very young,
Your life was with full songs of hope
You always chanted,
Until your resolution to bury your brother,
Until you opted for death.
You were young, Antigone, very young,
You were in love, Antigone, and beloved,
Betrothed to Haemon, the royal prince,
But you cast behind your happiness
By standing up against that order
Which was a sacrilege of your faith,
So the cave of fate opened its mouth
And you there were swallowed to death.
Oh Antigone, Antigone,
With such devotion, Antigone
You fulfilled your obligation, Antigone,
Young and old mourn you, Antigone:
Oh Antigone, Antigone.
Written by Moshe D. Shafrir-Stillman