| Margarete Münsterberg, ed., trans. A Harvest of German Verse. 1916. | | | | Girls Singing | | By Ferdinand von Saar (1833–1906) |
| | | SPRINGTIME: in the evening shade | |
| I was strolling through the vale— | |
| All at once before me strayed | |
| Gentle sounds across the dale. | |
| |
| I drew nearer; all serene | 5 |
| Two were sitting hand in hand— | |
| Maidens as by day are seen | |
| Working in the furrowed land. | |
| |
| And the faces both were brown | |
| From the kissing sunbeams’ glow; | 10 |
| Underneath each ragged gown | |
| Bare a sunburnt foot would show. | |
| |
| But they sang, their heads held high, | |
| Songs that from their bosoms sprang | |
| To the stars that lit the sky, | 15 |
| Sang, and knew not how they sang. | |
| |
| And they sang the old, old lays | |
| All of love, its joy and pain, | |
| Heedless, seeking no one’s praise, | |
| Through the wide and lonely plain. | 20 | | | |
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