Quatrains
I
Goethe
Back from the chaos of existence to chaos primeval,
I collect my self for walks through poetry and truth.
In your company, O crystal spring of love and life,
The more I listen, the lesser I speak, the better I fare.
II
A sparrow clings to shivering bamboo leaves,
On a few graves lie wilting narcissi,
The dusky crows now crowd the leafless trees,
A woman passes by - how love grows old!
III
Enchantingly, the spring night floats in gentle breezes,
How flowers breathe in starlit rows and fill our hearts
With songs of love and friendship’s grace, all unrest ceases,
Tonight, I will not sleep, lest this dream too depart.
IV
A little girl nestled under a weeping willow,
Immersed in her heaven-bound storybook,
Is roused by the clip clop of a donkey cart
Carrying three little brothers, her thoughts, their smiles and hay.
V
Little could one say by way of gratitude
Except that love of those we’ve loved can leave us in its debt,
Forgiving us our purely human nature, pranks,
Reveries, impertinence, hence all that goes along with love
