WHEN MY play was with thee I never questioned who thou wert. I knew nor shyness nor fear, my life was boisterous. In the early morning thou wouldst call me from my sleep like my own comrade and lead me running from glade to glade. On those days I never cared to know the meaning of songs thou sangest to me. Only my voice took up the tunes, and my heart danced in their cadence. Now, when the playtime is over, what is this sudden sight that is come upon me? The world with eyes bent upon thy feet stands in awe with all its silent stars.
WHEN I LINGERED among my hoarded treasure I felt like a worm that feeds in the dark upon the fruit where it was born. I leave this prison of decay. I care not to haunt the mouldy stillness, for I go in search of ever-lasting youth; I throw away all that is not one with my life nor as light as my laughter. I run through time and, O my heart, in your chariot dances the poet who sings while he wanders.
