Romance Sonambulo Summary

The speaker begins by declaring his desire for, well, the color green. Gosh, he (we're just assuming it's a "he") really loves it. Oh and guess what. There's also a ship that's out on the sea and a horse on a mountain. (Are you getting all this?) The speaker goes on to talk of a "she" who is dreaming on a balcony somewhere. It turns out that she is green, too, except for her "eyes of cold silver." Everything is watching her, but apparently she can't see anything herself. (If all this is a little weird, well, you're not wrong.)

Hey, that reminds the speaker: he really digs green. He tells us that again, just in case we forgot over the last dozen lines. The speaker then points out stars that emerge "with the fish of shadow" at dawn. There's also a fig tree in the wind and a forest that "bristles its bitter fibers." (Sounds like a fire hazard to Shmoop.) The speaker wants to know who will come, and where they'll be coming from. No word on where he expects this person, though. Maybe at his birthday party? It seems that the green girl is still on her balcony, but is also "dreaming in the bitter sea." Must be one of those hi-tech, waterproof balconies…

Next we get a dialogue between the speaker and another. The speaker wants to trade some of his stuff for some things that belong to the green girl. He's also wounded and bleeding. Nope, sorry says the other, can't help ya. He (again, we use the term generically) would love to help, but he's just not himself. The first speaker wants to die in his own bed, or at least climb up to the "green balconies" of the moon.

Good idea. The two climb up to those balconies, leaving a trail of blood and tears behind (kind of like when we climbed to the top of that water slide last summer). Though the wind leaves a "strange taste" in their mouths, they see the "gypsy girl," all green and silver-eyed. She's swinging from an "icicle of moon" over a water trough (sounds dangerous). Then some drunken guards are pounding on the door (even more dangerous), and the speaker reminds us how much he just really… really is into green. Oh, and don't forget about that ship out to sea, and the horse on the mountain.