Der Engel
The Angel

Wesendonck-Lieder Wesendonck Songs

Wesendonck

Early in my days of childhood,
Angels, I oft heard it said,
Left the blissful joys of Heaven
For the light of Earth instead.

When a heart fills with dread sorrow,
Shuns the world and disappears,
When its wish to bleed in silence
Dissolves into a flood of tears,

When its prayer at its most fervent
Begs for nothing but release,
Then the angel will come down to
Raise it up to Heaven’s peace.

Once an angel flew down to me;
He, on wings that shimmer, soft,
Leads me far away from suffering,
Gently bears my soul aloft.

Stehe still!
Be still!

Wesendonck-Lieder Wesendonck Songs

Wesendonck

Hurrying, scurrying wheel of time
Marking out eternity;
Glowing spheres in distant space
Circling us with gravity;
All sempiternal generation, cease!
Enough of that - let me know peace!
Desist, now, creative powers;
The Word creating without end.
Hold back your breath, calm your desires,
Be silent just one moment’s length.
Throbbing pulse, restrain your beat
To end desire’s endless day

So I, in sweet oblivion,
May take full measure of my joy;
See bliss within another’s eyes,
Immerse my soul within another’s,
Another’s being that mirrors mine;
An intimation that hope’s goal is near.

Then are lips hushed in wondrous silence,
The drive for newer hopes is stilled,
We see Eternity in Nature,
The search for answers is fulfilled.

Im Treibhaus
In the Hothouse

Wesendonck-Lieder Wesendonck Songs

Wesendonck

Crown of leaves arching high,
Canopies of emerald,
Children, come from distant parts,
What is it that breaks your hearts?

Silently your branches bow,
Tracing symbols in the air,
The mute witness to your suffering,
A sweet fragrance rises there.

Yearning with desire
You stretch your arms out wide
And, captive to delusion, hug
Emptiness, the barren void.

I know that well, poor plant,
It is one fate we share;
Though glowing light surrounds us,
Our homeland lies elsewhere.

And as, happily, the sun deserts
The empty light of day,
He who knows real anguish
Finds, in the dark, a silent hideaway.

The silence grows, a rustling web
Fills the darkened space with dread:
Along the edges of the leaves
I see heavy droplets quiver.

Schmerzen
Torment

Wesendonck-Lieder Wesendonck Songs

Wesendonck

Sun, you weep every evening
Till your eyes are red and sore
As, submerging in the mirrored sea,
You pass, too early, through death’s door.

But, you rise again in former splendour,
Glorious in a world that’s dark,
Newly wakened in the morning;
A hero who has made his mark.

Ah, how could I then complain,
Feel such heaviness in my heart,
When the sun itself knows anguish,
When the sun itself must perish.

And if death alone gives birth to life,
And only torment can bring joy,
How grateful am I for such torment
As Nature does in me deploy.

Träume
Dreams

Wesendonck-Lieder Wesendonck Songs

Wesendonck

What wondrous dreams are these
Holding my mind in thrall,
That they, like insubstantial foam,
Don’t barren emptiness recall.

Dreams that flower with greater beauty
With every hour of every day,
And blissful intimations of heaven
Throughout my inner self convey.

Dreams that like the rays of glory
Run through me to the very core,
Creating a picture there, effacing
All but one, for evermore.

Dreams as when the spring-time sun
Frees snowbound flowers with a kiss
So that the new day welcomes them
With unimaginable bliss,

So they may grow and bloom,
Dreaming exude their scent,
Their glow gently fading on your breast
Until their life is spent.