How quickly disappear
Wilhelm Killmayer
How quickly disappear
Light and radiance;
The morning finds
A withered garland,
That only yesterday glowed
In all its splendor.
For it has faded
In the dark night.
Like a wave does
Life drift away,
As bright as it has painted itself:
It has gained nothing;
The sun sets,
The redness flees,
The shadows climb,
And darkness draws in.
So love floats
Into the wastelands,
Ah, would that it might remain
Until the grave!
Yet we awake
To deep pain:
The skiff breaks,
The light is extinguished.
From the beautiful land
We are brought far away,
To a desolate shore
Where night surrounds us.