Verses translated by Julia Kalman
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New Love
Heart, my heart, why so joyful,
So full of restlessness and distraction,
As if blissfully over mountains
The beautiful springtime were already coming?
Because a dear girl once more
Presses warmly against your heart,
You look joyfully up and down,
Earth and sky refresh you.
And I have the windows open wide,
Drawing anew into the world
Old anxieties, old hopes!
It shall be spring, spring!
I can no longer stay quiet here,
A song wanders through my chest,
But too bright it is for me to write,
And I am happily confused.
Thus I stroll through the streets,
People come and go,
I don’t know what I’m doing or leaving,
Only that I am so happy.
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 1788–26 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.
Annie from Tharau
Annie from Tharau is the one I adore;
She is my life, my wealth, and more.
Annie from Tharau has turned her heart
Back to me, in love and in part.
Annie from Tharau, my treasure, my dear,
You are my soul, my flesh, and my cheer!
If storms were to come our way,
We stand together, come what may.
Sickness, persecution, sorrow, and pain,
Shall only strengthen our love’s chain.
Just as a palm tree grows tall and proud,
Despite hail and rain, standing unbowed;
So our love grows mightier and vast
Through trials, through hardships, through every contrast.
Even if you were far away,
Living where hardly sees the day;
I’d follow you through forests, through sea,
Through ice, through iron, through enemy.
Annie from Tharau, my light, my sun,
My life, with yours, becomes one.
What I command, you’ll do without delay,
What I forbid, you’ll let it stay.
For love to truly last,
There must be one heart, one voice, one grasp.
Where there’s bickering, fighting, and strife,
Behaving like animals, devoid of life?
Annie from Tharau, that’s not our way;
You’re my dove, my lamb, my ray.
What I desire is dear and right,
I’ll keep your coat, you keep my hat, tight!
For us, Annie, this is sweetest repose,
Two become one, as love flows.
This is what turns life into a heavenly sphere,
For discord makes it akin to hell, I fear.
Simon Dach (29 July 1605–15 April 1659) was a German lyrical poet and hymn-writer, born in Memel, Duchy of Prussia (now Klaipėda in Lithuania).
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Julia Kalman 