now the great bear and pleiades - benjamin britten lyrics

now the great bear and pleiades where earth moves
are drawing up the clouds of human grief
breathing solemnity in the deep night
who can decipher
in storm or starlight
the written character
of a friendly fate
as the sky turns, the world for us to change?
but if the horoscope’ s bewildering
like a flashing turmoil of a shoal of herring
who can turn skies back and begin again?