Living

Venetian Epigram 3: I would liken this gondola unto the soft-rocking cradle

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832

Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Venetian Epigrams

Living

I WOULD liken this gondola unto the soft-rocking cradle,
And the chest on its deck seems a vast coffin to be.
Yes! 'tween the cradle and coffin, we totter and waver for ever
On the mighty canal, careless our lifetime is spent.

MLA

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 3: I would liken this gondola unto the soft-rocking cradle.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/303/.

Chicago

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 3: I would liken this gondola unto the soft-rocking cradle.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/303/.

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