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To my cousin
Athanasia
” Ut hirundines aestivo tempore praesto sunt...”
(As the
swallows stay in these climes in the summer...)
Cicero
You still
haunt my heart,
Athanasia, my sweet-natured, angelic cousin!
You come to me in my sleep,
quiet, pure, mild, softly shining,
in your white dress of delicate pink flowers!
When I see you in your sublimity
my spirit's struck with astonishment
for you have the high gift
that makes everything in this room seem
admirable, shining, sumptuous!
Your modest silence ornaments, enlivens,
illuminates, brings to life again
all that I left behind!...
I shut my eyes! I'm with you again,
by our magic river!
We're both only twelve!
The pebbles sing in the foam
of the waves like little bells.
They're dreaming of the clear water's motherly touch!
A faint music falls from the leaves
of the elegant poplars,
a green melody, trembling like the heart
of a frightened bird in flight.
The diamond of the sun sparkles in the liquid gold
of your silken hair.
My soul shivers, bows to the shadows,
kisses the sweet air
and breathes in the mauve fullness of midday!
O sweet Athanasia! So far from my lips
are the days of great light!
All is death now
all is death!
I wander round my dark room,
enclosed like an autumn flower
between the distant springtimes
of your hands!
Night's
coming!
I wait for the stars
that shine from the foreheads
of the high seraphim,
heavenly guardians of our
first love!
Translated
into English by Norton Hodges |
