Margarete Münsterberg, ed., trans. A Harvest of German Verse. 1916.
By Girls SingingFerdinand von Saar (18331906)
S
I was strolling through the vale—
All at once before me strayed
Gentle sounds across the dale.
Two were sitting hand in hand—
Maidens as by day are seen
Working in the furrowed land.
From the kissing sunbeams’ glow;
Underneath each ragged gown
Bare a sunburnt foot would show.
Songs that from their bosoms sprang
To the stars that lit the sky,
Sang, and knew not how they sang.
All of love, its joy and pain,
Heedless, seeking no one’s praise,
Through the wide and lonely plain.