The Works of J. W. von Goethe/Volume 9/To Lida

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

TO LIDA.

The only one whom, Lida, thou canst love,
⁠Thou claim'st, and rightly claim'st, for only thee;
He, too, is wholly thine; since doomed to rove
⁠Far from thee, in life's turmoils nought I see
Save a thin veil, through which thy form I view,
As though in clouds; with kindly smile and true,
⁠It cheers me, like the stars eterne that gleam
⁠Across the northern lights' far-flick'ring beam.