Death & Dying
Within This Room
Translated by William N. Loew (1912) · From Cypress Leaves from the Grave of Dear Ethel
Within this room fought life and death
For her and here she sighed the breath
Which closed the fight.
Eternal night
Came to the maiden fair and bright.
Within this room I freely shed
A sea of tears for the dear dead.
Why did this flow
Not drown my woe,
Did not my life end here below?
Within this room henceforth I'll dwell.
The very walls sweet tortures spell:
But happy I!
She's always nigh,
I see her with my mental eye.
Within this room, — for this I pray, —
I want to live until that day
When 'neath this sun
My course I've run,
And I my goal — my grave — have won.
Cite this poem
MLA
Petőfi, Sándor. “Within This Room.” Translated by William N. Loew. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petofi/29/.
Chicago
Petőfi, Sándor. “Within This Room.” Translated by William N. Loew. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petofi/29/.
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