I have a dead friend who lately
Has begun to visit me:
My friend sits down and sings to me,
Sings to me so dolefully.

'Upon the double-winged bird's back
I am rowing through skies of blue:
One of the bird's wings is black,
The other, gold of Cariboo.'

'The heart's a madman that abhors
One color as one too few:
Either its love is two colors,
Or else it is not love's hue.'

'There's a madwoman more savage
Than is the unhappy heart:
She that sucks the blood in rage,
And then a-laughing would start.'

'A heart that has lost forever
The steadfast anchor of home,
Sails like a ship in fould weather,
And knows not to go or come.'

If his anguish should betray him,
The dead man will curse and weep:
I pat his skull and I lay him,
Lay the dead man down to sleep.