Startled at the cold stiffness of my pillow,
I see that the window is a sheet of pure white.
Deep in the night, the weight of snow increases
Until I hear bamboo snapping in the darkness.
Nestas folhas perfumadas
Pelas rosas desfolhadas
Desses cantos de amizade,
Permite que venha agora
Quem longe da pátria chora
Bem triste gravar: — saudade!
not much chance,
By children's births, and death, I am become
So dry, that I am now mine own sad tomb.
Ninny Nanny Netticoat,
In a white petticoat,
With a red nose, --
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.
It's night
Mein Esel sicherlich
Muss klueger sein, als ich.
Ja, klueger muss er sein!
Er fand sich selbst in Stall hinein,
Und kam doch von der Traenke.
Man denke!
The patient stars are shining large and clear;
The crescent moon hangs like a tilted bowl;
So calm, so still, that I can almost hear
Thoughts stirring in the chambers of my soul.
The people's conscience squats
on a worm-eaten pole.
Around the pole dance the bones of three children.
From the young mother's belly it ruptures forth:
the sheep's pulse bleats baa baa.
Hooded in angry mist, the sun goes down:
Steel-gray the clouds roll out across the sea:
Is this a Kingdom? Then give Death the crown,
For here no emperor hath won, save He.
