The Rose. I. In his tower sat the poet Gazing on the roaring sea, "Take this rose," he sighed, "and throw it Where there's none that loveth me! On the rock the billow bursteth And sinks back into the seas, But in vain my spirit thirsteth Take, o sea! the tender blossom That hath lain against my breast; On thy black and angry bosom Life is vain, and love is hollow, Ugly death stands there behind, Die Rose. I. uf dem Thurme sigt der Dichter, "Bring die Rose hin," so spricht er, „Wo kein liebend Herz mir schlägt. An den Fels die Welle dröhnet, Nimm, o See! die zarten Blüten, Die an meiner Brust geruht; Sichre Raft und tiefern Frieden Hohl ist Lieb' und Lust auf Erden, Grimmen Tod die Zukunft birgt; * Hate and scorn and hunger follow Him that toileth for his kind." Forth into the night he hurled it, And with bitter smile did mark How the surly tempest whirled it Drifts the helpless blossom seaward, II. Stands a maiden, on the morrow, - Who hath been my life so long, Haß und Hohn und Hunger werden Tem, der für die Menschheit wirkt." In die Nacht warf er die Rose, Bitter lächelnd schaute er, Wie der Wogen wild Getose Warf sie wirbelnd hin und her. Gischt und Brandung tobten leewärts Und des rauhen Windes Macht Trieb das zarte Blümchen seewärts, Hilflos durch die dunkle Nacht. II. Steht die Jungfrau drauf am Morgen ,,Werd' ich ihn denn je erblicken, Ter mein Herz erfüllt so lang? Je an diese Brust ihn drücken — Laß, o See! den theuren Namen, Den ich schrieb auf deinen Strand Spare his name whose spirit fetters Mine with love forevermore !" Swells the tide and overflows it, But, with omen pure and meet, Brings a little rose, and throws it Humbly at the maiden's feet. Full of bliss she takes the token, And, upon her snowy breast, Soothes the ruffled petals broken With the ocean's fierce unrest. "Love is thine, o heart! and surely Peace shall also be thine own, For the heart that trusteth purely Never long can pine alone." III. In his tower sits the poet, Blisses new and strange to him Fill his heart and overflow it With a wonder sweet and dim. Up the beach the ocean slideth |