Es war, als hätt' der Himmel,
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blütenschimmer
Von ihm nur träumen müßt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder
Die Ähren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.
Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Lande,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.
- Josef van Eichendorff
English translation by Emily Ezust:
Moon-night
It was as if the sky
Had quietly kissed the earth,
So that in a shower of blossoms
She must now dream of him.
The breeze wafted through the fields,
The ears of corn waved gently,
The forests rustled faintly,
So sparkling clear was the night.
And my soul stretched
its wings out far,
Flew through the still lands,
as if it were flying home.
The
poem has been
set to
music by
Johannes Brahms and
Robert Schumann.
I would like to comment that I am quite fond of the translation listed here, as it gives a nearly word-for-word reference to the original German while still preserving the elegance and beauty of the poem.