15: Peace
Blest is he who lives his life
Far from the turmoil of the world,
That yonder in the bustling crowd
Flows down like a torrent in flood.
We are all friends here:
Man, beast and flowering plant.
Mutually respectful of one another,
We are the embodiment of love.
The tender lambs frolic
Delighted by my feet.
The turtledoves sing
And coo good morning.
The rose-bush with greetings
Tenders his offspring,
There in the valley the blue host
Of sweet violets.
And while I am weaving garlands,
The grove resounds and rustles.
It wafts me the scent of the lime
In the golden moonlight.
All discord is left behind.
Pride, persecution, jealousy:
There is no place for them
Here in this golden age.
Pleasant jests wait upon me,
And troubled care withdraws.
But my heart alone
Is not yet at peace.
Because I once knew what it is to love
And to gaze upon and kiss a loved one,
But now I am banished
Far away to a distant land.
Joy only makes me sad
And casts a shadow over my quiet mind;
For my dear beloved
Is now gone forever.
Recall your bygone pleasures
And revive your spirits.
Remember the melancholy joys.
Otherwise your heart will break.
Dawn still smiles on me
Often, to be sure.
A faint hope then lulls
My heart to peaceful rest:
That I might find him again
Whom once I knew so well,
And that a band woven from good fortune
Might bind us together again.
Who knows through what shades
His feet are passing today.
Then he comes across the meadow
And all my sorrow is blown away.
The sighs and the tears:
A new happiness extinguishes them.
And hope and fear and longing:
It melts them in a moment.