Classic Poem

Herangedämmert kam der Abend

The evening came, dusk-enshrouded,
The tide tossed in wildly;
And I sat on the beach, watching
The white dance of the breakers.
My bosom heaved like the sea,
And yearning seized me — a keen home-sickness
For you, and your fair image
That rises over all things,
And calls me forever,
Over all and forever,
In the howling of the winds, in the roaring of the sea
And in the sighing clamor of my own heart.

With a light reed I wrote upon the sand
" Agnes, I love you! "
But heartless waves crept up and poured themselves
Over that sweet confession,
And blotted it out.

Frail reed, shifting and treacherous sand,
Unstable waters, I'll trust you no more!
The heaven grows darker, my heart grows wilder;
And with strong hands, from Norway's mighty forests
I'll tear the highest pine;
And dip it deep
In Ætna's glowing crater.
And with such a pen,
Fiery and gigantic,
I'll write upon the darkening dome of heaven
" Agnes, I love you! "
Thus every night that flaming line shall burn
And blaze down from the furthest skies;
And all the vast generations of men
Shall read and thrill with the rapturous words:
" Agnes, I love you! "