Who can remember you without a sigh, First entrance into manhood, O ye days Bewitching, inexpressible, when first On the enchanted mortal smiles the maid, And all things round in emulation smile; And envy holds its peace, not yet awake, Or else in a benignant mood; and when, —O marvel rare!—the world a helping hand To him extends, his faults excuses, greets His entrance into life, with bows and smiles Acknowledges his claims to its respect? O fleeting days! How like the lightning’s flash, They vanish! And what mortal can escape Unhappiness, who has already passed That golden period, his own good time, That comes, alas, so soon to disappear?
And thou, Nerina, does not every spot Thy memory recall? And couldst thou e’er Be absent from my thought? Where art thou gone, That here I find the memory alone, Of thee, my sweet one? Thee thy native place Beholds no more; that window, whence thou oft Wouldst talk with me, which sadly now reflects The light of yonder stars, is desolate. Where art thou, that I can no longer hear Thy gentle voice, as in those days of old, When every faintest accent from thy lips Was wont to turn me pale? Those days have gone. They have been, my sweet love! And thou with them Hast passed. To others now it is assigned To journey to and fro upon the earth, And others dwell amid these fragrant hills. How quickly thou hast passed! Thy life was like A dream. While dancing there, joy on thy brow Resplendent shone, anticipations bright Shone in thy eyes, the light of youth, when Fate Extinguished them, and thou didst prostrate lie. Nerina, in my heart the old love reigns. If I at times still go unto some feast, Or social gathering, unto myself I say: “Nerina, thou no more to feast Dost go, nor for the ball thyself adorn.” If May returns, when lovers offerings Of flowers and of songs to maidens bring, I say: “Nerina mine, to thee spring ne’er Returns, and love no more its tribute brings.” Each pleasant day, each flowery field that I Behold, each pleasure that I taste, the thought Suggest: “Nerina pleasure knows no more, The face of heaven and earth no more beholds.” Ah, thou hast passed, for whom I ever sigh! Hast passed; and still the memory of thee Remains, and with each thought and fancy blends Each varying emotion of the heart; And will remain, so bitter, yet so sweet!
NIGHT SONG OF A WANDERING SHEPHERD IN ASIA.
What doest thou in heaven, O moon? Say, silent moon, what doest thou? Thou risest in the evening; thoughtfully Thou wanderest o’er the plain, Then sinkest to thy rest again. And art thou never satisfied With going o’er and o’er the selfsame ways? Art never wearied? Dost thou still Upon these valleys love to gaze? How much thy life is like The shepherd’s life, forlorn! He rises in the early dawn, He moves his flock along the plain; The selfsame flocks, and streams, and herbs He sees again; Then drops to rest, the day’s work o’er; And hopes for nothing more. Tell me, O moon, what signifies his life To him, thy life to thee? Say, whither tend My weary, short-lived pilgrimage, Thy course, that knows no end?
And old man, gray, infirm, Half-clad, and barefoot, he, Beneath his burden bending wearily, O’er mountain and o’er vale, Sharp rocks, and briars, and burning sand, In wind, and storm, alike in sultry heat And in the winter’s cold, His constant course doth hold; On, on, he, panting, goes, Nor pause, nor rest he knows; Through rushing torrents, over watery wastes; He falls, gets up again, And ever more and more he hastes, Torn, bleeding, and arrives at last Where ends the path, Where all his troubles end; A vast abyss and horrible, Where plunging headlong, he forgets them all. Such scene of suffering, and of strife, O moon, is this our mortal life. In travail man is born; His birth too oft the cause of death, And with his earliest breath He pain and torment feels: e’en from the first, His parents fondly strive To comfort him in his distress; And if he lives and grows, They struggle hard, as best they may, With pleasant words and deeds to cheer him up, And seek with kindly care, To strengthen him his cruel lot to bear. This is the best that they can do For the poor child, however fond and true. But wherefore give him life? Why bring him up at all, If this be all? If life is nought but pain and care, Why, why should we the burden bear? O spotless moon, such is Our mortal life, indeed; But thou immortal art, Nor wilt, perhaps, unto my words give heed.
Yet thou, eternal, lonely wanderer, Who, thoughtful, lookest on this earthly scene, Must surely understand What all our sighs and sufferings mean; What means this death, This color from our cheeks that fades, This passing from the earth, and losing sight Of every dear, familiar scene. Well must thou comprehend The reason of these things; must see The good the morning and the evening bring: Thou knowest, thou, what love it is That brings sweet smiles unto the face of spring; The meaning of the Summer’s glow, And of the Winter’s frost and snow, And of the silent, endless flight of Time. A thousand things to thee their secrets yield, That from the simple shepherd are concealed. Oft as I gaze at thee, In silence resting o’er the desert plain, Which in the distance borders on the sky, Or following me, as I, by slow degrees, My flocks before me drive; And when I gaze upon the stars at night, In thought I ask myself, “Why all these torches bright? What mean these depths of air, This vast, this silent sky, This nightly solitude? And what am I?” Thus to myself I talk; and of this grand, Magnificent expanse, And its untold inhabitants, And all this mighty motion, and this stir Of things above, and things below, No rest that ever know, But as they still revolve, must still return Unto the place from which they came,— Of this, alas, I find nor end nor aim! But thou, immortal, surely knowest all. This I well know, and feel; From these eternal rounds, And from my being frail, Others, perchance, may pleasure, profit gain; To me life is but pain.
My flock, now resting there, how happy thou, That knowest not, I think, thy misery! O how I envy thee! Not only that from suffering Thou seemingly art free; That every trouble, every loss, Each sudden fear, thou canst so soon forget; But more because thou sufferest No weariness of mind. When in the shade, upon the grass reclined, Thou seemest happy and content, And great part of the year by thee In sweet release from care is spent. But when I sit upon the grass And in the friendly shade, upon my mind A weight I feel, a sense of weariness, That, as I sit, doth still increase And rob me of all rest and peace. And yet I wish for nought, And have, till now, no reason to complain. What joy, how much I cannot say; But thou some pleasure dost obtain. My joys are few enough; But not for that do I lament. Ah, couldst thou speak, I would inquire: Tell me, dear flock, the reason why Each weary breast can rest at ease, While all things round him seem to please; And yet, if I lie down to rest, I am by anxious thoughts oppressed?
Perhaps, if I had wings Above the clouds to fly, And could the stars all number, one by one, Or like the lightning leap from rock to rock, I might be happier, my dear flock, I might be happier, gentle moon! Perhaps my thought still wanders from the truth, When I at others’ fortunes look: Perhaps in every state beneath the sun, Or high, or low, in cradle or in stall, The day of birth is fatal to us all.
CALM AFTER STORM.
The storm hath passed; I hear the birds rejoice; the hen, Returned into the road again, Her cheerful notes repeats. The sky serene Is, in the west, upon the mountain seen: The country smiles; bright runs the silver stream. Each heart is cheered; on every side revive The sounds, the labors of the busy hive. The workman gazes at the watery sky, As standing at the door he sings, His work in hand; the little wife goes forth, And in her pail the gathered rain-drops brings; The vendor of his wares, from lane to lane, Begins his daily cry again. The sun returns, and with his smile illumes The villas on the neighboring hills; Through open terraces and balconies, The genial light pervades the cheerful rooms; And, on the highway, from afar are heard The tinkling of the bells, the creaking wheels Of waggoner, his journey who resumes.