Mythology & Folklore

A Woman

by Heinrich Heine 1797–1856

Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1908) · From New Poems: Romances

Mythology & Folklore

They loved each other beyond belief,
The woman a rogue was, the man was a thief;
At each piece of knavery, daily
She fell on the bed, laughing gaily.

In joy and pleasure they pass’d the day,
Upon his bosom all night she lay;
When they carried him off to Old Bailey,
At the window she stood, laughing gaily.

He sent her this message: O come to me,
I yearn, my love, so greatly for thee;
I want thee, I pine, and look palely,--
Her head she but shook, laughing gaily.

At six in the morning they hang’d the knave,
At seven they laid him down in his grave;
At eight on her ears this fell stalely,
And a bumper she drank, laughing gaily.

MLA

Heine, Heinrich. “A Woman.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/heine/252/.

Chicago

Heine, Heinrich. “A Woman.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/heine/252/.

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