Night song

Flowing, swelling night,

full of lights and stars:

in the endless distances,

speak: what has awakened out there?

The heart in my breast is crowded

with the rise and fall of life;

I feel it weaving about me, an immense thing

that squeezes mine out.

Sleep, you approach gently

as the nurse approaches a child;

and about this paltry flame

you form a protective circle.