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To a Godson
Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer (1915) · From Poems and Songs (1870; Palmer 1915)
Here hast thou before thee that constellation
Whereunder was born thy light;
These stars in the vault of high thoughts' mutation
Will fashion thy life with might.
Their prophecy, little one, we cannot know,
They light up the way that, unknown, thou shalt go
And kindle the thoughts that within shall glow.
Thou first shalt them gather,
Then choose thine own,--
So canst thou the rather
Grope on alone.
Codex Note
Written 1861, with an album of portraits of the leaders of the day at the child's birth.
Cite this poem
MLA
Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne. “To a Godson.” Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bjornson/35/.
Chicago
Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne. “To a Godson.” Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bjornson/35/.
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