Nature

Night Thoughts

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749–1832

Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Songs

Nature

OH, unhappy stars! your fate I mourn,
Ye by whom the sea-toss'd sailor's lighted,
Who with radiant beams the heav'ns adorn,

But by gods and men are unrequited:
For ye love not,--ne'er have learnt to love!
Ceaselessly in endless dance ye move,
In the spacious sky your charms displaying,

What far travels ye have hasten'd through,
Since, within my loved one's arms delaying,
I've forgotten you and midnight too!

MLA

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Night Thoughts.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/76/.

Chicago

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Night Thoughts.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/76/.

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