Poems

Gestillte Sehnsucht (Satisfied Longing)

Steeped in a golden evening glow,
how solemnly the forests stand!
In gentle voices the little birds breathe
into the soft fluttering of evening breezes.
What does the wind whisper, and the little birds?
They whisper the world to sleep.

You, my desires, that stir
in my heart without rest or peace!
You longings that move my heart,
When will you rest, when will you sleep?
By the whispering of the wind, and of the little birds?
You yearning desires, when will you fall asleep?

What will come of these dreamy flights?
What stirs me so anxiously, so sweetly?
It comes pulling me from far-off hills,
It comes from the trembling gold of the sun.
The wind whispers loudly, as do the little birds;
The longing, the longing - it will not fall asleep.

Alas, when no longer into the golden distance
does my spirit hurry on dream-wings,
when no more on the eternally distant stars
does my longing gaze rest;
Then the wind and the little birds
will whisper my longing and my life to sleep.

Friedrich Ruckert (1788-1866)

Wie Melodien zieht es mir (It pulls at me, like a melody)

It pulls at me, like a melody,
Quietly through my mind;

It blossoms like spring flowers
And wafts away like fragrance.

But when it is captured in words,

And placed before my eyes,

It turns pale like a gray mist
And disappears like a breath.

And yet, remaining in my rhymes

There hides still a fragrance,
Which mildly from the quiet bud
My moist eyes call forth.

Klaus Groth (1819-1899)

Heimweh (Homesickness)

Oh, if I only knew the road back,
The dear road to childhood's land!
Oh, why did I search for happiness
And leave my mother's hand?

Oh, how I long to be at rest,
Not to be awakened by anything,
To shut my weary eyes,
With love gently surrounding!

And nothing to search for, nothing to beware of,
Only dreams, sweet and mild;
Not to notice the changes of time,
To be once more a child!

Oh, do show me the road back,
The dear road to childhood's land!
In vain I search for happiness,
Around me naught but deserted beach and sand!

Klaus Groth (1819-1899)

Du bist wie eine blume (You are like a flower)

You are like a flower
So lovely, pure and fair;
I gaze upon you
And sadness steals into my heart.

I fain would lay my hands

In blessing on your brow,
Praying that God may keep you,
So lovely, pure and fair.

Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn't care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

Love's Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single

All things by a law divine

In one another's being mingle -

Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

If it disdain'd its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea -

What are these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?

Percy Shelley (1792 -1822)