Tiny Ruins - Bird in the Thyme

What a beautiful song.

There it was: a fallen bird in the thyme, 
Its time had come. 
And then the sage: he gave his wise reply, 
And I looked down. 

And on the twelfth night, the fool came, 
With his song and his smile. 
And on the twelfth night, the fool came, 
With his song and his smile. 

And we rose merrily forward, 
And we rose merrily down, 
And we rose merrily forward, 
And we rose merrily down.


I heard this song as part of an extraordinary documentary I saw about Operation Overdue. Air New Zealand Flight 901 had crashed into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica on a sightseeing flight on 28 November 1979 (killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew). The documentary focusses mainly on the extensive mission recovering the dead carried out by New Zealand Police officers, Mountain Face Rescue Team members and US Marines.

Never before I had heard about this tragic loss of life and the extraordinary to bring the dead back to their loved ones before.

Read more on Flight 901