Adrian Ludwig Richter – Mädchen auf der Wiese – 1823
Liebesbotschaft
Clouds that hurry toward the East,
where the one who’s mine is waiting,
all my wishes, my hopes and songs
shall fly with you on your wings,
shall steer you, hurrying ones, to her
so that my chaste love
shall think of me with loyal love.
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Sing morning dreams to her still,
float gently in the garden,
sink like dew into the shadowy room,
strew pearls upon the flowers and trees
so that to that wonderful being, if she passes by,
all the merry blossoms
shall open with even brighter splendor.
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And in the evening, in the silent calm,
spread the sinking sun’s light upon her!
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It shall paint you purple and gold;
And in the sea, bright with glow and sunbeams,
the little ship plies its way,
so that she believes singing angels
are preserving her.
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Yes, it may well be angels,
if my heart were pure like hers;
All my wishes, my hopes and songs
are drawn there on your wings,
are steered there by you, hurrying ones,
to my chaste love,
so that I alone may think of her.
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Where Still Shadows Fall.
,
Come in the still night,
Thou dearest and best!
Tis long since the sunlight
Has sunk to its rest.
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Why tarry, my heart?
The starlight is clear!
The moon’s silver crest
Is hastening near.
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See how the moon gleams
On blossoms and spray!
Trust in the moonbeams.
For loyal are they:
What fearest thou? Love come away!
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In dreamy bliss lie
Each floweret and tree
Love only is waking, to gaze upon thee.
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List to the nightingale.
List to my call:
Come, Dearest, come, where still shadows fall.
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Masters do not fall from the sky!
And that's a piece of luck, too!
for already there are too many masters here;
if another bunch were to fall from the sky,
how bruised we apprentices would get
by all of them,
despite our masterpieces!
Masters do not fall from the sky!
Praise God, neither do masters' wives!
Ah, dear heaven, be so kind,
if up there one is grumbling,
keep her in mercy
so that she doesn't
come down to earth to shame us!
Masters do not fall from the sky!
Nor do masters' daughters!
A very long time have I known this,
and yet, what a joy that would be,
if, young and pretty and merry,
such a maiden were to come down,
and be my true love!
Masters do not fall from the sky!
That is my comfort in this world;
and so I intend to be a master myself,
and if I am gifted with a wife,
then this earth shall be
a heaven to me,
from which no master will fall.
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