Love
The Maiden on the Shore
Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer (1915) · From Poems and Songs (1870; Palmer 1915)
She wandered so young on the shore around,
Her thoughts were by naught on earth now bound.
Soon came there a painter, his art he plied
Above the tide,
In shadow wide,--
He painted the shore and herself beside.
More slowly she wandered near him around,
Her thoughts by a single thing were bound.
And this was his picture wherein he drew
Herself so true,
Herself so true,
Reflected in ocean with heaven's blue.
All driven and drawn far and wide around
Her thoughts now by everything were bound.
Far over the ocean,--and yet most dear
The shore right here,
The man so near,
Did ever the sunshine so bright appear!
Cite this poem
MLA
Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne. “The Maiden on the Shore.” Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bjornson/31/.
Chicago
Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne. “The Maiden on the Shore.” Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bjornson/31/.
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