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To a Godson

by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson 1832–1910

Translated by Arthur Hubbell Palmer (1915) · From Poems and Songs (1870; Palmer 1915)

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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.

✦ ✦ ✦

Written 1861, with an album of portraits of the leaders of the day at the child's birth.

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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