The Soul Of A Century/My changeless fate

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3724789The Soul Of A Century — My changeless fate1943Jaroslav Vrchlický

MY CHANGELESS FATE

My Fate will never change for me
But one day to arise and fall
And ’ere Death plays her melody
Only these words will I recall;
“My Fate will never change for me.”

I would drink wine, but I swallow dust,
I would cheer others, but grieve alone.
I long for strength and fancy’s thrust
But only grievous words intone.
I would drink wine, but swallow dust.

My dreams of happiness are brief,
Across my life, deep shadows plod.
I feel the weight of all my grief,
I am fashioned of a luckless clod.
My dreams of happiness are brief.

What can I do! Be still and bear?
Someday perhaps, my sun will rise.
I wish my soul, like a bird could flare
And fly from out its narrow ties.
What can I do! Be still and bear?

No one will I stop to upbraid,
To reproach him for his sham and pain,
Of storms and thunder unafraid
Like a nightingale I will sing my strain.
No one will I stop to upbraid.

My Fate will never change for me,
Perhaps this is my end, at length,
To die in my dreams’ rhapsody,
To hold you back, I lack the strength.
My Fate will never change for me.

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

Original:

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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