poems about love

Die holden Wünsche blühen

The sweet desires blossom
And fade, and revive and spend
Their beauty and wither, and blossom —
And so on, to the end.

I know this, and it saddens
My love and all its zest . . .
My heart's so wise and clever
It bleeds away in my breast.

Es war ein alter Konig

There was an aged monarch,
His heart and head were gray with strife;
This poor, old monarch wedded
A young and lovely wife.

There was a pretty page-boy,
His hair was light, his heart was clean;
He carried the long and silken
Train of the fair young queen.

You know the old, old story
So sweet, so sad to tell —
Both of them had to perish;

Die schlanke Wasserlilie

The slender water-lily
Stares at the heavens above,
And sees the moon who gazes
With the luminous eyes of love.

Blushing, she bends and lowers
Her head in a shamed retreat —
And there is the poor, pale lover,
Languishing at her feet!

Das Meer hat seine Perlen

The sea has its pearls,
The heaven its stars, —
But my heart, my heart,
My heart has its love.

The sea and the heaven are great,
But my heart is greater still;
And fairer than pearls or stars
Glistens and sparkles my love.

Oh young and lovely maiden
Come to my fathomless heart;
My soul and the sea and the heavens
Are wasting away with love.

Man glaubt, dass ich mich gräme

They think that I am tortured
Beneath a bitter yoke;
And I have come to believe it
As well as other folk.

Oh little, great-eyed maiden,
I've told thee time and again,
That beyond words I love thee,
That Love gnaws my heart in twain.

But in my own room only
I've said this thing — for see,
When I am in thy presence

Sei mir gegrüsst, du grosse

Greetings to thee, oh city
Of power and mystery,
That once, within thy bosom,
Shielded my love for me.

Tell me, oh gates and towers,
Where is my loved one, where?
Into your care I gave her;
You should have kept her there.

I do not blame the towers,
They could not stir where they stood,
When she, with her trunks and boxes,

A lovely child alone, singing to himself serenely, —
Playing with pebbles in an unfrequented garden
Through drowse of summer afternoon where time drifts greenly.

A youth, impassioned by he knows not what, exploring
Delusive labyrinths in errors age will pardon, —
A youth, all ignorance, all grace, his dreams adoring.

A man, confounded by the facts of life that bind him
Prometheus-like to rocks where vulture doubts assail him, —
A man, with blank discarded youthfulness behind him.

So hast du ganz und gar vergessen

So now you have forgotten wholly
How once your heart was mine, mine solely;
Your heart had so sweet and so false a glow,
Nought could be sweeter or falser, I know.

So the love and the pain is forgotten wholly
That tortured my heart and made it lowly.
But whether the pain was as great as my love,
I know not. I know they were both great enough.

Ich grolle nicht, und wenn das Herz auch bricht

I will not mourn altho' my heart be torn,
Oh love forever lost! I will not mourn.
Altho' arrayed in light and diamonds bright,
No single ray falls in thy heart's deep night.

I know this well . . . I saw thee in a dream
And saw the night within thy heart supreme;
And saw the snake that gnawed upon thy heart . . .
I saw how wretched, oh my love, thou art.

O schwore nicht und küsse nur

Oh kiss me, love, and never swear,
For women's oaths are light as air!
Your speech is sweet, but sweeter is
The silent answer in your kiss!
'Tis this alone that has my faith —
The word is but a perfumed breath.

Well, swear then, love; oh, swear away;
I will believe each word you say!
And as I sink upon your breast
I will believe that I am blessed;
I will believe your love of me
Stretches beyond Eternity.