The Works of J. W. von Goethe/Volume 9/Departure

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

For works with similar titles, see Departure.

DEPARTURE.

With many a thousand kiss not yet content,
At length with one kiss I was forced to go;
After that bitter parting's depth of woe,
I deemed the shore from which my steps I bent,

Its hills, streams, dwellings, mountains, as I went,
A pledge of joy, till daylight ceased to glow;
Then on my sight did blissful visions glow;
In the dim-lighted, distant firmament.

And when at length the sea confined my gaze,
My ardent longing filled my heart once more;
What I had lost unwillingly I sought.
Then Heaven appeared to shed its kindly rays;
Methought that all I had possessed of yore
Remained still mine—that I was reft of nought.