I draw nigh to the tree then, And there I say: Oh Orange, Thou ripe and juicy Orange, Thou sweet and luscious Orange, I shake the tree, I shake it, Oh fall into my lap!
1789.
NIGHT THOUGHTS.
OH, unhappy stars! your fate I mourn,Ye by whom the sea-toss'd sailor's lighted, Who with radiant beams the heav'ns adorn,But by gods and men are unrequited:
For ye love not,--ne'er have learnt to love!
Ceaselessly in endless dance ye move, In the spacious sky your charms displaying,What far travels ye have hasten'd through, Since, within my loved one's arms delaying,I've forgotten you and midnight too!
1789.
TO LIDA.
THE only one whom, Lida, thou canst love,Thou claim'st, and rightly claim'st, for only thee;He too is wholly thine; since doomed to roveFar from thee, in life's turmoils nought I see Save a thin veil, through which thy form I view, As though in clouds; with kindly smile and true,It cheers me, like the stars eterne that gleam Across the northern-lights' far-flick'ring beam.
1789.
PROXIMITY.
I KNOW not, wherefore, dearest love,Thou often art so strange and coy When 'mongst man's busy haunts we move,Thy coldness puts to flight my joy.
But soon as night and silence round us reign, I know thee by thy kisses sweet again!
1789.
RECIPROCAL.
MY mistress, where sits she?
What is it that charms?
The absent she's rocking,Held fast in her arms.
In pretty cage prison'dShe holds a bird still;Yet lets him fly from her,Whenever he will.
He pecks at her finger,And pecks at her lips, And hovers and flutters,And round her he skips.
Then hasten thou homeward,In fashion to be;If thou hast the maiden,She also hath thee.
1816.
ROLLICKING HANS.
HALLO there! A glass!
Ha! the draught's truly sweet!
If for drink go my shoes,I shall still have my feet.
A maiden and wine,With sweet music and song,--I would they were mine,All life's journey along!
If I depart from this sad sphere, And leave a will behind me here, A suit at law will be preferr'd, But as for thanks,--the deuce a word!
So ere I die, I squander all, And that a proper will I call.
HIS COMRADE.
Hallo there! A glass!
Ha! the draught's truly sweet If thou keepest thy shoes,Thou wilt then spare thy feet.
A maiden and wine,With sweet music and song, On pavement, are thine,All life's journey along!
THE FREEBOOTER,No door has my house,No house has my door;And in and out everI carry my store.
No grate has my kitchen,No kitchen my grate;Yet roasts it and boils itBoth early and late.
My bed has no trestles,My trestles no bed;Yet merrier momentsNo mortal e'er led.
My cellar is lofty,My barn is full deep, From top to the bottom,--There lie I and sleep.
And soon as I waken,All moves on its race;My place has no fixture,My fixture no place.
1827.
JOY AND SORROW.
As a fisher-boy I faredTo the black rock in the sea, And, while false gifts I prepared.
Listen'd and sang merrily, Down descended the decoy,Soon a fish attack'd the bait;One exultant shout of joy,--And the fish was captured straight.
Ah! on shore, and to the woodPast the cliffs, o'er stock and stone, One foot's traces I pursued,And the maiden was alone.
Lips were silent, eyes downcastAs a clasp-knife snaps the bait, With her snare she seized me fast,And the boy was captured straight.
Heav'n knows who's the happy swainThat she rambles with anew!
I must dare the sea again,Spite of wind and weather too.
When the great and little fishWail and flounder in my net, Straight returns my eager wishIn her arms to revel yet!
1815.
MARCH.
THE snow-flakes fall in showers,The time is absent still, When all Spring's beauteous flowers, When all Spring's beauteous flowersOur hearts with joy shall fill.
With lustre false and fleetingThe sun's bright rays are thrown;The swallow's self is cheating:
The swallow's self is cheating,And why? He comes alone!
Can I e'er feel delightedAlone, though Spring is near?
Yet when we are united, Yet when we are united,The Summer will be here.
1817.
APRIL.
TELL me, eyes, what 'tis ye're seeking;
For ye're saying something sweet,Fit the ravish'd ear to greet, Eloquently, softly speaking.
Yet I see now why ye're roving;
For behind those eyes so bright,To itself abandon'd quite, Lies a bosom, truthful, loving,--One that it must fill with pleasure'Mongst so many, dull and blind,One true look at length to find, That its worth can rightly treasure.
Whilst I'm lost in studying everTo explain these cyphers duly,--To unravel my looks truly In return be your endeavour!
1820.
MAY.
LIGHT and silv'ry cloudlets hoverIn the air, as yet scarce warm;Mild, with glimmer soft tinged over,Peeps the sun through fragrant balm.
Gently rolls and heaves the oceanAs its waves the bank o'erflow.
And with ever restless motionMoves the verdure to and fro,Mirror'd brightly far below.
What is now the foliage moving?
Air is still, and hush'd the breeze, Sultriness, this fullness loving,Through the thicket, from the trees.
Now the eye at once gleams brightly,See! the infant band with mirth Moves and dances nimbly, lightly,As the morning gave it birth,Flutt'ring two and two o'er earth.
1816.
JUNE.
SHE behind yon mountain lives, Who my love's sweet guerdon gives.
Tell me, mount, how this can be!
Very glass thou seem'st to me, And I seem to be close by, For I see her drawing nigh;Now, because I'm absent, sad, Now, because she sees me, glad!
Soon between us rise to sight Valleys cool, with bushes light, Streams and meadows; next appearMills and wheels, the surest token That a level spot is near,Plains far-stretching and unbroken.
And so onwards, onwards roam, To my garden and my home!
But how comes it then to pass?
All this gives no joy, alas!--I was ravish'd by her sight, By her eyes so fair and bright, By her footstep soft and light.
How her peerless charms I praised, When from head to foot I gazed!
I am here, she's far away,--I am gone, with her to stay.
