by
Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)
Vigil
Language: English
Our translations: CAT FRE GER
Dark is the night,
The fire burns faint and low,
Hours -- days -- years,
Into grey ashes go;
I strive to read,
But sombre is the glow.
Thumbed are the pages,
And the print is small;
Mocking the winds
That from the darkness call;
Feeble the fire that lends
Its light withal.
O ghost, draw nearer;
Let thy shadowy hair
Blot out the pages
That we cannot share;
Be ours the one last leaf
By Fate left bare!
Let's Finis scrawl,
And then Life's book put by;
Turn each to each
In all simplicity:
Ere the last flame is gone
To warm us by.
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Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Vetlla", copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Veille", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wache", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 103
Wache
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Dunkel die Nacht,
das Feuer verzehrt;
Stund, Tag und Jahr
sind in Asche verkehrt;
müh' mich, zu lesen,
hätte Helle begehrt.
Zerlesen das Buch
der Druck zu klein;
im Düster Winde
Spott und Hohn spei'n;
müde das Feuer
und fahl sein Schein.
O Geist, rück näher,
dass dein lichtloses Haar
lösch aus die Seiten,
die uns nicht mehr gewahr;
und das Schicksal uns leer
die letzte Seite bewahr.
Lasst Finis1 kritzeln,
dann das Lebensbuch beiseit'.
Wendet euch zu
in Bescheidenheit:
eh das Letzte erloschen,
das uns Wärme bereit'.