Afraid, am I afraid? Madame Flora afraid! Can it be that I'm afraid? In my young days I have seen many terrible things! Women screaming as they were murdered And men's hands dripping with blood And men haunted by knives And little grotesque children drained White by the voraciousness of filth And loathsome old men insane with vice And young men with cankers crawling On their flesh like hungry lizards This I've seen, and more, and never been afraid O God, forgive my sins, I'm sick and old Forgive my sins and give me peace! What ill wind shakes my hand?
What unseen ghost stands by my side? No, no, it cannot be the dead! The dead, the dead The dead never come back They sink down in the dust With no eyes to dream and no silence to keep A secrets to hide' Gone, empty, nothing, nothing "O black swan, where Oh, where is my lover gone?" Who is there? "O black swan, O black swan. " What? Nothing, but then if there is nothing To be afraid of why am I afraid of this nothingness? I must forget about it, laugh at it Yes, laugh at it! O God, forgive my sins, I'm sick and old