Songs of Love: 3. I sing because...

I sing because you loved me once.
I sing when the sun shines,
when it rains and when it snows.
Because you held me in your arms one night.
I am as beautiful as a wide-open lily.
Because you looked at me once
and your soul was in your look
I fix my hair and wear perfume.
Because you admired me walking by
I saw my slender shadow move.
I was born into this world
because you loved me.
Now you are gone.
Because you loved me once,
I too can sweetly die.
So beautifully you loved me once.

Nils Peterson, after Maria Polydouri