by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)
Translation © by Salvador Pila

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

Vetlla
Language: Catalan (Català)  after the English 
Fosca és la nit,
el foc crema feble i baix,
hores—dies—anys,
esdevé cendres grises;
maldo per llegir
però llòbrega és la lluïssor.

Molt fullejades són les pàgines
i la lletra és petita;
mofaires els vents
que xisclen des de la foscúria;
feble el foc que dóna
la seva llum tanmateix.

Oh esperit, apropa’t;
fes que els teus cabells ombrívols
no deixin veure les pàgines
que no podem compartir;
que el nostre darrer full
sigui deixat en blanc per el Destí!

Que la Fi faci gargots
i que després posem de costat el llibre la Vida;
fullegem un vers l’altre
en tota simplicitat:
abans que la darrera flama s’apagui
per escalfar-nos.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2024 by Salvador Pila, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website: 2024-06-08
Line count: 24
Word count: 110