Classic Poem

I

Thy nights moan into my days,
Through my dreams courses the blood of thy feet.
O I will drink thy tears away,
I will bear thee up under the crown of my leaves.

The crown of my leaves is cool and full of peace,
Bathed high in waters deep.
Down upon us shall drip the depths of the sky,
From seas eternal through the holy crown of leaves.

Slumber deep in my arms!
My eyes are steel-hard angels watching
Over thy peace.

II

Thy eyes with gloom are gleaming,
And a spinning weeping
Of thy raven hair
Over the linen.

O thy pale face,
And how thy slender fingers
Over the pillows are creeping: —
Touching stammering
Of a sprouting song,
That fain would flower.

My soul with thee is seeking.

III

When the roses' wonder open at morn,
Fain would I come to thee!
Bring cool dew to thy brow,
And laughter to thy lips.

In my nights thy loneliness affrights me;
Nestle deep in the pinions of my soul
Darkly they rustle over the seas,
To find a way to thee.

IV

When the night goes hence,
Let us from goblets dark
Reach to each other our blood.

And be one eye, one soul,
Shivering over the valleys,
Burning chalices clear.

Seest thou the morning wind? It bears
Hovering life from bush to bush,
Blade of grass to blade.
Be thou mine!