by
Gottfried Keller (1819 - 1890)
Augen, meine lieben Fensterlein
Language: German (Deutsch)
Our translations: ENG FRE
Augen, meine lieben Fensterlein,
Gebt mir schon so lange holden Schein,
Lasset freundlich Bild um Bild herein:
Einmal werdet ihr verdunkelt sein!
Fallen einst die müden Lider zu,
Löscht ihr aus, dann hat die Seele Ruh';
Tastend streift sie ab die Wanderschuh',
Legt sich auch in ihre finstre Truh'.
Noch zwei Fünklein sieht sie glimmend stehn
Wie zwei Sternlein, innerlich zu sehn,
Bis sie schwanken und dann auch vergehn
Wie von eines Falters Flügelwehn.
Doch noch wandl' ich auf dem Abendfeld,
Nur dem sinkenden Gestirn gesellt:
Trinkt, o Augen, was die Wimper hält,
Von dem goldnen Überfluß der Welt!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Confirmed with Gesammelte Gedichte von Gottfried Keller, Erster Band, J. G. Cotta’sche Buchhandlung Nachfolger, Stuttgart und Berlin, 1902, page 43.
Text Authorship:
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust
[Administrator] , Caroline Diehl
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 102
My eyes, my dear little windows
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
My eyes, my dear little windows,
for a long time now you have given me lovely light,
kindly allowing in one image after another:
yet one day you will grow dark!
When someday your weary lids fall closed,
you will be extinguished and my soul will have its rest;
tentatively, it will strip off its wanderer's shoes,
and lay itself also in its dark coffin.
But it will still see two small sparks gleaming there
like two little stars, seen only inwardly,
until they weaken and then also die out
as if blown by the wings of a butterfly.
But I still wander in the evening fields,
accompanied only by fading stars:
drink, o eyes, as much as your lashes can hold,
of the golden opulence of the world!
Available sung text translations: ← What is this?
• J. Marx • L. Thuille About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotes
Translations of titles:
"Abendlied" = "Evening song"
"Augen, meine lieben Fensterlein" = "My eyes, my dear little windows,"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
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Based on:
Go to the general view
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 133
