DREAMS OF HAPPINESS
When in parting we embrace
I cannot refrain from tears;
Even yonder branch will shudder
When its song-bird disappears.
When my life begins to fade,
Do not ask the reason why;
Even well-waters turn cloudy
When a stone drops from on high.
Know you why my yearning song
Still is lingering on my breath?
E’en a nightingale sings freely
Just before it meets its death.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW
I would like to know . . . I would like to know . .
How has warm Spring arrived?
On the wings of birds did it fly down?
Was it bom in the dew-drops pearly gown?
Or was it from my soul derived?
I would like to know . . . I would like to know . .
What Springtime means to love.
Why to embrace and kiss and dream
We are driven by flowers and a moonlight beam
’Neath the peaceful stars above?
I would like to know . . . I would like to know . .
What in my soul found rest.
Is it love’s burning flame divine
Or bits of flickering songs that shine,
Or a passing dream at best . .
BARKOCHBA
(An Excerpt)
Herein again you see our fateful lot,
Eternal weeping and eternal groans!
They knock their heads against the temple walls
And yet, in truth, for this they should be blessed,
For their despondent grief is but a sign,
A living witness that we are alive.
105
