Venice masks

Monday 20 January 2014

In Goethe's Garden - Bettina Von Arnim

I from this hillock all my world survey!
  Yon vale, bedecked by nature's fairy fingers,
  Where the still by-road picturesquely lingers,
The cottage white whose quaint charms grace the way—
These are the scenes that o'er my heart hold sway.

I from this hillock all my world survey!
  Though I ascend to heights fair lands dividing,
  Where stately ships I see the ocean riding,
While cities gird the view in proud array,
Naught prompts my heart's impulses to obey.

I from this hillock all my world survey!
  And could I stand while Paradise descrying,
  Still for these verdant meads should I be sighing,
Where thy dear roof-peaks skirt the verdant way:
Beyond these bounds my heart longs not to stray.

Bettina Von Arnim (1785 – 1859) Germany

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