A Symphony of Love and Loss

Poem by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, translated by Julia Kalman

💙🐰🌼 Spring is in the air, dear friends! May your days be filled with blossoming flowers, golden sunshine, and heartwarming moments shared with your loved ones. Happy Spring, lovelies! 🐣🌼🐰🌿🌺🥚🐥🐇

Take a moment to dive into my story, and spend at least 30 seconds soaking up its warmth and charm. Your genuine interaction means the world to me. With heartfelt thanks, I wish you a season brimming with love and laughter. 💙

Do you still recall that evening, quiet with yearning,

Where we were together for the last time in the park?

Cool flames of evening glow surrounded us,

I joked wildly — you smiled through tears.

So sweetly madness plays with pain

On the precipitous edge of abysses that seek it;

It disregards the lurking danger,

For it already has death in its desolate heart.

Whether you deceived or saddened your mother,

What others interpret or say about it, –

Otherwise shy — today you wanted to ask nothing at all,

Only to show me how much you loved me.

And secretly slipping away from the house,

You silently escorted me into the field,

Before us, the valley, hopeful and wide,

And behind us, the gray night crept.

“You’re leaving now,” she said, “I’ll stay alone;

Ah! If only I could leave everything behind, calm and serene

And go down with you, always further –

I looked at you — pale lights played

So wonderfully around your curls and limbs;

So calm, so strange you had never seemed to me,

It was as if the petrified faces said,

What you concealed: We will never see each other again!

I was silent when you finally stopped;

But when you lay weeping against my heart,

As if seeking salvation from your own pain,

Then I felt courage to love you faithfully forever.

I swung onto the horse, freed from your arm,

Still saw your white cloth waving to me once more,

Closed the garden, — all the enchantment sank –

Turned around once more — and you were gone too.

I.
Spring with its sounds and red flower mouths,

Charming splendor! fades in forest and meadow;

Noiselessly I roamed through the cheerful blue,

Had not yet felt the glow deep within.

Then the horn spoke of blissful hours,

And as I bravely gazed into the melodies,

Out of the forest rode the beautiful woman,

Oh! Kneel down, for the budding of eternal wounds!

To linger, to depart, she seemed to hesitate,

Dreamily, gleams blossomed into the green of her eyes,

The forest seemed to grow rapidly with twinkling.

From my chest welled an endless questioning,

Once again, the jewels sparkled,

And around the enchantment, the green darkness beat.

II.
Now mist drifts, pale leaves fall,

Desolate all the places that often delighted us,

For the last time deeply moved us,

As if from flight, departing songs resound.

For many, such death bears pleasing fruit,

That he, now pressed close to the blooming heart,

Plucks fairer bouquets from red lips,

Than spring offers with all its woods and meadows.

Never did her eyes tell me their blue:

Rest now! Do you wish to ponder forever?

And lonely, I watch summer fade away.

So deeply will I preserve the blossoms of spring,

And with memories, magically envelop myself,

Until I wake from a long dream in May.

Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 1788–26 November 1857) was a prominent German Romantic poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. His works have remained popular in German-speaking Europe since their publication.

[The info provided about Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was sourced from Wikipedia.]

Please, clap, engage, and… stay tuned for the next story…! But, most importantly, a profound thank you to each one of you. Your unwavering support has been invaluable.