Living
Song IX
Translated by Jethro Bithell (1911) · From Contemporary Belgian Poetry (1911)
You have lighted the lamps,--
O! the sun in the garden!
You have lighted the lamps,
The sun through the fissures slants,
Open the gates of the garden!
The keys of the doors are lost,
We must wait, we must wait always,
The keys are fallen from the tower,
We must wait, we must wait always,
We must wait for other days ...
Other days shall open the doors,
The forest keeps the bolts,
Around us burn the holts,
It is the light of the dead leaves,
Which burn on the doors' thresholds ...
The other days are wearisome,
The other days are also shy,
The other days will never come,
The other days shall also die,
We too shall die here by and bye.
Cite this poem
MLA
Maeterlinck, Maurice. “Song IX.” Translated by Jethro Bithell. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/maurice-maeterlinck/23/.
Chicago
Maeterlinck, Maurice. “Song IX.” Translated by Jethro Bithell. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/maurice-maeterlinck/23/.
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