Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
III. The SeasonsWinter
Matthias Claudius (17401815)A Song to Be Sung behind the Stove
O
Stout-hearted, sound, and steady;
Steel nerves and bones of brass hath he:
Come snow, come blow, he ’s ready!
He keeps no fire in his chamber,
And yet from cold and cough is free
In bitterest December.
Nor needs he first to warm him;
Toothache and rheumatis’ he ’ll scorn,
And colic don’t alarm him.
He asks “What mean these noises?”
Warm sounds he hates and all warm things
Most heartily despises.
When the bright hearth is snapping;
When children round the chimney crowd,
All shivering and clapping;—
And pond and lake are cracking,—
Then you may see his old sides shake,
Such glee his frame is racking.
He has an icy tower;
Likewise in lovely Switzerland
He keeps a summer bower.
His regiments manœuvre;
When he goes by, we stand and stare,
And cannot choose but shiver.