An Anthology of Modern Bohemian Poetry/Ritournelles

2608573An Anthology of Modern Bohemian Poetry — Ritournelles1912Bohdan Kaminský, translated by Paul Selver

Bohdan Kaminský (b. 1859).

RITOURNELLES

Amid this life, where age by age are pressed
A throng of hapless beings, naught save love
So potent is, that man thereon may rest.

————

When that all hope amid the wastes doth stray,

Ever by love man raises him on high. . . .
Some let, ere this, their heart's blood ebb away

————

From out the soul much meets the poet's eye,

But if he ponders where is joy on earth,
Naught, if the heart is silent, makes reply.

————

Yea, joy there is. Young hearts with love it fills,

Faces with radiance, souls with song, and flowers
With dew with reconciliation ills.

————

Life is a book, read joyously in sooth,

When every page speaks fragrance to our soul,
And radiance, warmth, sweet tenderness to youth.

————

Some ever from afar behold their joys,

Whose life is but a leaf torn from a book,
That in the fire a maiden's hand destroys.

"Men and Women" (1893).

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

Original:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1929, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 94 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

Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1970, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 53 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