Page:An Anthology of Modern Bohemian Poetry.pdf/42

38 Jaromír Borecký (b. 1869).

I know not what 'twas o'er me stole,
 * As if the ice were rent apart,

That for a longdrawn span of dole
 * In chains had fettered fast my heart.

Once more I feel exultant powers,
 * E'en as the lark on high doth soar,

Or like the blue-bell 'mid the flowers,
 * When that the mend is docked once more.

The hawthorn whispers from its spray,
 * The torrent from the clump of firs,

That once again has dawned my day,
 * Or—love once more my being stirs.

"" (1905).

 Otakar Březina (b. 1868).

Thro' life my mother, as in sad atonement, paced,
 * Of fragrances, hues, blossoms, light, her day was bare;

Dry is the fruit of life, and hath an ashen taste,
 * That, unrefreshed, she from the tree of time did tear.

