Poems (Hooper)/Ich Habe Geliebet
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ICH HABE GELIEBET.
Yes, I have loved thee, and how well and madly,
Thou, cold of heart, shall never, never know!
I will not feed thy vanity by telling
How bitterly the tears of manhood flow!
Yes, I have loved thee with the deep devotion
A woman wins but once, and nevermore;
Let once Love's bark be wrecked upon Life's waters,
There comes no second to the self-same shore.
Thou, cold of heart, shall never, never know!
I will not feed thy vanity by telling
How bitterly the tears of manhood flow!
Yes, I have loved thee with the deep devotion
A woman wins but once, and nevermore;
Let once Love's bark be wrecked upon Life's waters,
There comes no second to the self-same shore.
O I have wasted Love's celestial incense
Before thy shrine, thou idol wrought of clay!
Have poured my heart's whole wealth upon thine altar,
And now I turn in loathing scorn away.
Yes, I have wakened from my charméd dreaming
To yield me to thy witchery no more.
I would not sorrow could I but respect thee;
But I despise where late I did adore.
Before thy shrine, thou idol wrought of clay!
Have poured my heart's whole wealth upon thine altar,
And now I turn in loathing scorn away.
Yes, I have wakened from my charméd dreaming
To yield me to thy witchery no more.
I would not sorrow could I but respect thee;
But I despise where late I did adore.
I gather up my heart's poor shattered fragments
(That heart thou'st broken, but mayst not retain),
And forth into the world I bend my footsteps,
Never, I trust, to see thy face again.
I ask no vengeance from the avenging Future.
Cold heart and shallow brain, go free, go free!
I do not ask thee, in thy joyous hours,
To blight thy gayety with thoughts of me!
(That heart thou'st broken, but mayst not retain),
And forth into the world I bend my footsteps,
Never, I trust, to see thy face again.
I ask no vengeance from the avenging Future.
Cold heart and shallow brain, go free, go free!
I do not ask thee, in thy joyous hours,
To blight thy gayety with thoughts of me!
Unbidden comes the day of retribution;
Surely, though late, its sun shall o'er thee shine,
When thou, with' worn-out grace and faded beauty,
Would sell thy very soul for love like mine.
And if the spirits of the ancient Sibyl
My lip and soul to prophecy had mov'd,
I could for thee foretell a doom no darker
Than that which shall be thine—to live unloved.
Surely, though late, its sun shall o'er thee shine,
When thou, with' worn-out grace and faded beauty,
Would sell thy very soul for love like mine.
And if the spirits of the ancient Sibyl
My lip and soul to prophecy had mov'd,
I could for thee foretell a doom no darker
Than that which shall be thine—to live unloved.
And when the rose hue from thy cheek has faded,
The gloss departed from thy golden hair;
When e'en thy fondest flatterer—thy mirror,
Bids thee confess thou art no longer fair;
When the bright dreams of youth have left thee wholly,
And thou, to muse upon the Past, art free;
When friend and flatterer alike desert thee,
Then is mine hour. Yes, then remember me!
The gloss departed from thy golden hair;
When e'en thy fondest flatterer—thy mirror,
Bids thee confess thou art no longer fair;
When the bright dreams of youth have left thee wholly,
And thou, to muse upon the Past, art free;
When friend and flatterer alike desert thee,
Then is mine hour. Yes, then remember me!
Remember me! for I have loved thee truly,
And would have loved thee to life's latest hour;
I would have strewn thy earthly path with roses
(Mine all the thorns, so thou hadst but the flower).
Yes, I have loved thee—take this last confession
From one whose heart from aught save scorn is free,
Who deems thee now too pitiful for hatred:
I shall forget! but thou—remember me!
And would have loved thee to life's latest hour;
I would have strewn thy earthly path with roses
(Mine all the thorns, so thou hadst but the flower).
Yes, I have loved thee—take this last confession
From one whose heart from aught save scorn is free,
Who deems thee now too pitiful for hatred:
I shall forget! but thou—remember me!