Warum bist du nicht hier, meine Geliebteste,
Daß mich gürte dein Arm, daß mich dein Händedruck
Labe, daß du mich pressest
An dein schlagendes Schwesterherz.

Rosa, bist du mir hold? Rosa, so hold, wie ich,
War dir keiner, und wird keiner dir wieder seyn
Von den Söhnen der Erde,
Von den Söhnen Elysiums.

Wärmer, Rosa, fürwahr, wärmer und zärtlicher
Könnte nimmer für dich schlagen mein fühlend Herz,
Hätt' Ein Schooß uns geboren,
Hätt' uns einerley Brust gesäugt.

[Matte]1 labet der Quell, Müde der Abendstern,
Irre Wandrer der Mond, Kranke das Morgenroth;
Mich erlabet, Geliebte,
Dein Umfangen am [kräftigsten]2.

Warum bist du nicht hier, meine Vertrauteste,
Daß dich gürte mein Arm, daß ich dir süßen Gruß
Lispl' und feurig dich [drücke]3
An mein schlagendes Bruderherz.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with L.T.Kosegarten's Poesieen, Neueste Auflage, Zweyter Band, Berlin 1803, pages 84-85; and with Gedichte von Ludwig Theobul Kosegarten. Zweiter Band. Leipzig, bei Ernst Martin Gräff. 1788, pages 223-224.

Note: In his early editions Kosegarten included only two (independent) poems titled An Rosa, without a subtitle, and they did not yet constitute a part of his later cycle of the four poems An Rosa.

¹ Kosegarten (1788 edition): "Lecher"
² Kosegarten (1788 edition): "labendsten"
³ Kosegarten (1788 edition): "presse"

Text Authorship:

• by Ludwig Gotthard Theobul Kosegarten (1758 - 1818), "An Rosa", subtitle: "Zweytes Lied", written 1787 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "An Rosa I", D 315 (1815), published 1895 [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Aan Rosa I", copyright © 2007, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "To Rosa", copyright ©
• ENG English (Malcolm Wren) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "À Rosa", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "A Rosa I", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 128

 Why aren't you here, my most beloved,
 so that you can encircle me in your arms,
 soothe me by holding my hand,
 and press me
 to your throbbing, sisterly heart?
 
 Why aren't you here, my dearest,
 so that I can encircle you in my arms,
 greet you sweetly,
 whisper and press you fervently
 to my throbbing, brotherly heart?
 
 The spring refreshes the languid, the evening star the weary,
 The moon the lost traveler, the dawn the ill;
 but to me, my beloved, 
 your embrace is the strongest comfort of all.