Friday, June 12, 2009

Inspired by Goethe

as of late, inspired by this poem by Goethe ... thought I would share

The Holy Longing
by Goethe

Tell a wise person, or else keep silent,
Because the massman will mock it right away.
I praise what is truly alive,
What longs to be burned to death.

In the calm water of love nights,
Where you were begotten, where you have begotten,
A strange feeling comes over you
When you see the silent candle burning.

Now you are no longer caught
In the obsession with darkness,
And a desire for higher lovemaking
Sweeps you forward.

Distance does not make you falter
Now, arriving in magic, flying
And finally insane for the light,
You are the butterfly, and you are gone.

And so long as you haven't experienced this:
To die, and so to grow,
You are only a troubled guest
On the dark earth.

6 comments:

human being said...

magnificent!


'And finally insane for the light,
You are the butterfly, and you are gone.'

and he was much inspired by Hafiz... i love this shared spirit...

Anonymous said...

And so I find myself believing
As the beginning and the ending of life touches me from afar

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

you have such a lovely turn of phrase - fantastic as usual. i loved the last stanza the most

Roxanne said...

Hello my three friends - always nice to have you drop by - your words and more importantly - your community are of such value to me.

blessings to all of you
roxy

Anonymous said...

To die is to grow?

Hmmmm.......grow spiritually, I guess. Grow....like......the worm to the butterfly out of the cocoon. I'm just babbling.

Mariana Soffer said...

Excelent poem, well you have a great inspiration.
I like the rymes and the text, I like the darkness that comes out of it, I like that death is always present, and I love that the poem is silent.
Take care my friend