Verses by Sophie Albrecht, translated by Julia Kalman
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My soul was with you,
I stood by your deathbed,
Heard the final anxious breath
From your weary chest –
Saw the gaze,
That often smiled at me –
Grow dim — break –
And finally stare,
Seeking nothing more in this world.
Then I threw myself upon you,
Shook you,
Called to you,
And wanted to warm you with my hot tears.
But you remained cold
And silent.
They laid you in the very same coffin
That you and I
Had often called a resting place.
But as they closed it around you,
It became a coffin to me,
It became the terrible hell
Of annihilation.
Not only your earthly form
Was to decay,
But you yourself were locked away
Never to emerge again.
They carried you away,
Trembling, I threw myself through the black crowd,
Embraced your coffin –
But they tore me away,
And when I came to my senses,
I stood alone at your grave,
And my gaze
Shuddered down the terrible depth,
That separated us forever;
And yet,
The silent despair left me,
That seized my soul
As they lowered you down;
It was as if I were
In a stormy,
Pitch-black night,
Lost my way,
And stumbled upon cliffs
Where I had to give up,
To find my way this night;
But still I stood facing east,
Where I knew so surely –
That the morning must come again.
Sophie Albrecht (1756–1840) was a German actress and writer.
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Julia Kalman 