Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.
– Goethe
Over mountain peaks
Silence tarries;
In the tree-tops
No breath carries
To you.
Birds in the forest are still.
Wait, for you will
Soon sleep too.
Perhaps Goethe’s most famous poem. First reading it in school, I wasn’t impressed. A year or so later, I was gripped by it’s icy imagery.
Stray Thoughts 