Page:The Works of J. W. von Goethe, Volume 9.djvu/380

346 All forebodes a prosperous voyage; the sailor with calmness Leans 'gainst the sail, which alone all that is needed performs. Forward presses the heart of each seaman, like colours and streamers; Backward one only is seen, mournfully fixed near the mast, While on the blue-tinged mountains, which fast are receding, he gazeth, And as they sink in the sea, joy from his bosom departs. Vanished from thee, too, O Dora, is now the vessel that robs thee Of thine Alexis, thy friend,—ah, thy betrothed as well! Thou, too, art after me gazing in vain. Our hearts are still throbbing, Though, for each other, yet, ah! 'gainst one another no more. Oh, thou single moment wherein I found life! thou outweighest Every day which had else coldly from memory fled. 'Twas in that moment alone, the last, that upon me descended Life, such as deities grant, though thou perceived'st it not. Phœbus, in vain with thy rays dost thou clothe the ether in glory: Thine all-brightening day hateful alone is to me. Into myself I retreat for shelter, and there, in the silence, Strive to recover the time when she appeared with each day. Was it possible beauty like this to see, and not feel it? Worked not those heavenly charms e'en on a mind dull as thine?