| Margarete Münsterberg, ed., trans. A Harvest of German Verse. 1916. | | | | The City | | By Theodor Storm (1817–1888) |
| | | THE SHORE is gray, the sea is gray, | |
| And there the city stands; | |
| The mists upon the houses weigh, | |
| And through the calm the ocean gray | |
| Roars dully on the strands. | 5 |
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| There are no rustling woods, there fly | |
| No singing birds in May; | |
| The wild goose with its callous cry | |
| Alone on autumn nights soars by; | |
| The wind-blown grasses sway. | 10 |
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| And yet my whole heart clings to thee, | |
| Gray city by the sea; | |
| And e’er the spell of youth for me | |
| Doth smiling rest on thee, on thee | |
| Gray city by the sea. | 15 | | | |
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