Nature

Don’t wonder, shouldst Thou chance to hear

by Vítězslav Hálek 1835–1874

Translated by Joseph Štýbr (1920) · From Evening Songs (Večerní písně), trans. Štýbr (1920)

Nature

Don’t wonder, shouldst Thou chance to hear
Birds sing of Thy love’s wooing;
They called once at my window sill
To see what I was doing.

And they again came and again
And soon taught me to love them,
For I am free just as they are
And am just like one of them.

I sang them many songs of Thee
That in sweet love abounded,
And they soon tuned their throats to them
Till in their songs love sounded.

The other day I called on them
In their woods and nooks shady
And was surprised to find the birds
To sing my songs already.

MLA

Hálek, Vítězslav. “Don’t wonder, shouldst Thou chance to hear.” Translated by Joseph Štýbr. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/halek/47/.

Chicago

Hálek, Vítězslav. “Don’t wonder, shouldst Thou chance to hear.” Translated by Joseph Štýbr. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/halek/47/.

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