The Mind

Roundelay of Weariness

by Maurice Maeterlinck 1862–1949

Translated by Jethro Bithell (1911) · From Contemporary Belgian Poetry (1911)

The Mind

I sing the dirges pale
Of kisses lost and cold;
On love's thin grass I behold
Weddings of them that ail.

In my slumber voices sing;
How nonchalant they are!
And in streets without sun or star
Lilies are opening.

These things my heart desired,
These flights that backward fall,
Are the poor in a palace hall,
And in the dawn candles tired.

At the grim night's threshold I launch
Mine eyes far out, and know
That the moon, with its linen slow
And blue, my dreams will stanch.

MLA

Maeterlinck, Maurice. “Roundelay of Weariness.” Translated by Jethro Bithell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/maurice-maeterlinck/11/.

Chicago

Maeterlinck, Maurice. “Roundelay of Weariness.” Translated by Jethro Bithell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/maurice-maeterlinck/11/.

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