On a lamp

Othmar Schoeck

Yet not displaced, o fair lamp,

hanging here delicately on light chains,

you adorn the ceiling of this now almost forgotten gazebo.

Upon your white tray of marble, whose rim

is ringed by a wreath of ivy made of gold-green bronze,

a band of children gaily hold hands in a circle dance.

How adorable it all is! it smiles, and yet a gentle spirit

of solemnity pervades the entire shape -

an artistic construction of the genuine kind. Who notices it?

No matter; that which is fair seems to find joy in itself.