I think of you when from the sea the shimmer
Of sunlight streams;
I think of you when on the brook the dimmer
Moon casts her beams.
I see your face when on the distant highway
Dust whirls and flakes,
In deepest night when on the mountain byway
The traveler quakes.
I hear your voice when, dully roaring, yonder
Waves rise and spill;
Listening, in silent woods I often wander
When all is still.
I walk with you, though miles from you divide me;
Yet you are near!
The sun goes down, soon stars will shine to guide me.
Would you were here!
Translated by Michael Hamburger