Oh Death, dust of stars
Gabriel Fauré
Oh Death, dust of stars,
rise up under my footsteps!
Come, gentle wave shining
in the dark,
carry me off into your nothingness!
Come, sombre breeze in which I sway,
come like a flame intoxicated with wind!
In you I want to stretch out,
fade and dissolve,
oh death, my soul's aspiration!
[strong god whom my soul awaits
with songs and laughter of love]
Come, break me like a flower of foam,
a sun-bloom on the crest
of the waves!
[a flower plucked by the night, obscured by shadow
and scattered by space]
And like a wine of fire and divine scent
flowing from a golden amphora,
pour out my soul
into your abyss, so that it may perfume
the dark earth and the breath of the dead.