Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893.
TranslationsFrom the German. Forsaken
S
Must love and joy and sorrow learn,
Something with passion clasp, or perish,
And in itself to ashes burn.
And its frank eyes, with look intense,
Me from a world of sin are bringing
Back to a world of innocence.
Strong may thy heart in danger be!
Thou shalt not fail! but ah, be never
False as thy father was to me.
And thou thy mother ne’er forsake,
Until her lips are white and breathless,
Until in death her eyes shall break.