Was will die einsame Thräne
What means this lonely tear-drop,
Misty with ancient pains?
The tragic days have vanished,
But still this tear remains.
Once it had shining sisters;
But, with the old delights
And passing griefs, they left me,
Lost in the windy nights.
Lost, like the mist, those blue orbs;
Stars with a smiling dart,
That shot the joys and sorrows
Laughing into my heart.
Even my love has perished,
A breath that I have drawn . . .
Oh lone, belated tear-drop,
‘Tis time you too were gone.
***
What’s this? A tear, one only?
It blurs and troubles my gaze.
In my eye it has hung and lingered
A relic of olden days.
It had many shining sisters,
But away they all have passed —
Passed with my torments and raptures
In night on the driving blast.
Away, too, have passed like a vapor
Those deep-blue starlets twain,
That smiled those raptures and torments
Into my heart and brain.
Like a breath my very love, too,
Has faded and flown, alas!
So now, old, lonely tear-drop,
‘Tis time thou too shouldst pass!
Girl & Cat Productions 