I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For so swiftly it flew, my sight could not follow,
Could not follow in its flight.
I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow,
It can follow the flight of a song?
I sought my soul but my soul I could not see,
I sought my God but my God eluded me.
I sought my brother [sister],
I sought my brother [sister],
And I found all three.
Long afterward, in an old oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke,
And the song from beginning to end,
I found again,
I found again,
I found again in the heart of a friend.