Thomas Hampson

He, of his gentleness,
Thirsting and hungering
Walked in the wilderness;
Soft words of grace he spoke
Unto lost desert-folk
That listened wondering.
He heard the bittern call
From ruined palace-wall,
Answered hin brotherly;
He held communion
With the she-pelican
Of loneley piety.
Basilisk, cockatrice,
Flocked to his homilies,
With mail of dread device,
With monstrous barbed things
With eager dragon eyes;
Great bats on leathern wings
And old, blind broken things
Mean in their miseries.
Then ever with him went,
Of all his wanderings
Comrade, with ragged coat,
Gaunt ribs – poor innocent –
Bleeding foot, burning throat,
The guileless young scapegoat:
For forty nights and days
Followed in Jesus’ ways,
Sure guard behind him kept,
Tears like a lover wept.

Sure on this shining night
Of starmade shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.

The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
Hig summer holds the earth.
hearts all whole.

Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wandering far alone
Of shadows on the stars.

They hear the bell of midnight toll,
And shiver in their flesh and soul;
They lie on hard, cold wood or stone,
Iron, and ache in every bone;
They hate the night: they see no eyes
Of loved ones in the starlit skies.
They see the cold, dark water near;
They dare not take long looks for fear
They’ll fall like those poor birds that see
A snake’s eyes staring at their tree.
Some of them laugh, half-mad; and some
All through the chilly night are dumb;
Like poor, weak infants some converse,
And cough like giants, deep and hoarse.

German Translation by Susan Perkins

Sie hören die Mitternachtsglocke läuten
und zittern tief in Leib und Seele;
sie liegen auf hartem, kaltem Holz oder Stein
oder Eisen, und es schmerzt in jedem Glied;
sie hassen die Nacht: Denn im Sternenhimmel
sehen sie keine Augen von geliebten Menschen.
Sie sehen das kalte, dunkle Wasser nah,
wagen aber nicht, lange hinzuschauen,
aus Furcht zu stürzen, wie jene armen Vögel,
die Schlangenaugen auf ihren Baum gerichtet sehen.
Manche lachen, fast von Sinnen; manche
schweigen die frostige Nacht hindurch;
andere reden wie kleine, hilflose Kinder
und husten wie Riesen, tief und heiser.

Now have I fed and eaten up the rose
Which then she laid within my stiffcold hand.
That I should ever feed upon a rose
I never had believed in liveman’s land.

Only I wonder was it white or red
The flower that in the [darkness]1 my food has been.
Give us, and if Thou give, thy daily bread,
Deliver us from evil, Lord, Amen.

English Translation by Anonymous

Da hab ich gar die Rose aufgegessen,
Die sie mir in die starre Hand gegeben!
Dass ich noch einmal würde Rosen essen,
Hätt nimmer ich geglaubt in meinem Leben!

Ich möcht nur wissen, ob es eine rote,
Ob eine weisse Rose das gewesen?
Gib täglich uns, o Herr! von deinem Brote
Und, wenn du willst, erlös uns von dem Bösen.

Puisque tout passe, faisons la mélodie passagère;
celle qui nous désaltère aura de nous raison.
Chantons ce qui nous quitte avec amour et art;
soyons plus vite que le rapide départ.