Battle-weary and sunburnt
Max Joseph Beer
Battle-weary and sunburnt,
far away by the heathen shore -
forest-green Thuringia -
I think of you.
Mild and clear starshine,
you shall be my messenger;
go, greet my homeland
far beyond the sea!
Enemies on every side
my bronze weapons defy;
but against the pain of longing
there is no shield to protect me.
Yet however my heart laments,
I endure without despair:
he who braves God's crusade
must bear his cross in silence.
Over there, by the Belus brook,
the vanguard has already awakened;
today the sound of smashing spears rings out again
through the fields of Kishon.
Hark! how the roosters crow!
Today breakfast will sit uneaten
for today, worthy Saracens.,
we shall hew our fill.