One Night I Burned

One night I burned the house I loved,
It lit a perfect ring
In which I saw some weeds and stone
Beyond--not anything.

Certain creatures of the air
Frightened by the night,
They came to see the world again
And perished in the light.

Now I sail from sky to sky
And all the blackness sings
Against the boat that I have made
Of mutilated wings.

©1960 by Leonard Cohen