Living

The Warning

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832

Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Sonnets

Living

WHEN sounds the trumpet at the Judgment Day,
And when forever all things earthly die,

We must a full and true account supply
Of ev'ry useless word we dropp'd in play.
But what effect will all the words convey
Wherein with eager zeal and lovingly,

That I might win thy favour, labour'd I,
If on thine ear alone they die away?
Therefore, sweet love, thy conscience bear in mind,
Remember well how long thou hast delay'd,
So that the world such sufferings may not know.
If I must reckon, and excuses find
For all things useless I to thee have said,
To a full year the Judgment Day will grow

MLA

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “The Warning.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/193/.

Chicago

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “The Warning.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/193/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe