Oh, teach me, thou forest, to testify glad,
As in autumn the gloom of thy yellowing leaf,
That my spring cometh back after winter the sad,
That my tree gleameth green after mournfulness brief.
The roots of my tree stand strong, deep, and divine
In eternity's summer; oh, why then repine?
As in autumn the gloom of thy yellowing leaf,
That my spring cometh back after winter the sad,
That my tree gleameth green after mournfulness brief.
The roots of my tree stand strong, deep, and divine
In eternity's summer; oh, why then repine?
Bird of passage, thou frail little thing, oh, teach me
To fly with bold wing and with spirit as bold.
To lands undiscovered far over the sea.
When all here is stormy and cloudy and cold,
Throws wide open its gates, a sweet paradise there;
Let me haste to its sunshine, its odorous air.
To fly with bold wing and with spirit as bold.
To lands undiscovered far over the sea.
When all here is stormy and cloudy and cold,
Throws wide open its gates, a sweet paradise there;
Let me haste to its sunshine, its odorous air.
Oh, teach me, oh, teach me, thou butterfly bright,
To shatter the chrysalis dungeon and chain,
Which rob me of freedom, of joy, and of light:
I grovel, a worm, in this desert of pain;
But soon, ah ! sublimely transfigured, I fly,
With wings valiant, of purple and gold, in the sky.
To shatter the chrysalis dungeon and chain,
Which rob me of freedom, of joy, and of light:
I grovel, a worm, in this desert of pain;
But soon, ah ! sublimely transfigured, I fly,
With wings valiant, of purple and gold, in the sky.
From thy throne in the clouds, thou, Lord, smilest to me.
My Christ, my loved Jesus, thou mighty to save,
Oh, help me to conquer all sorrow, like thee.
Hope's green banner, Redeemer, victorious wave;
How bitter thy cross amid Calvary's gloom!
Thy triumph how wondrous, how grand, o'er the tomb!
Oh, help me to conquer all sorrow, like thee.
Hope's green banner, Redeemer, victorious wave;
How bitter thy cross amid Calvary's gloom!
Thy triumph how wondrous, how grand, o'er the tomb!
Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger (1779 - 1850) Denmark
Translated by Gilbert Tait
Source: A Library of Religious Poetry, Philip Scaff & Arthur Gliman, eds., Funk & Wagnalls, 1889
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