The Soul Of A Century/A memory

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3725773The Soul Of A Century — A memory1943Otokar Březina

A MEMORY

Through the rhythm of your steps and through the vaporous quivier of your sounds,
(Wherein slumber forgotten words) before me now flares to glowing heat,
That one day’s smouldering sunset, and in a verdure of light rebounds
And overcomes me with its clouds of sweet scent and languorous warmth’s deceit.

For years, that sweet scent ripened within me. And as I now inhale,
A question long thought dead and speechless, rises in smoke from its decay,
Like the sweetness of a thought, that melted too late with life’s destructive gale,
Like the burning oil of fully ripened olives . . . Over my dreams’ furrowed way,

I sail at night with the song of waves that dash beneath my meter’s oars,
I am carried away beneath the celestial map’s outspread, starry wings,
And I feel in the winds that blow from desolate island shores,
The peace of cypress blossoms, of soft, warm shadows and glowing Springs.

 This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1929, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 94 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) between 1929 and 1977 (inclusive) without a copyright notice.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1987, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 36 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse