Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Germany: Vols. XVII–XVIII. 1876–79. | | | | Mummelsee | | Not at Home | | Andreas Justinus Kerner (1786–1862) |
| | | | Translated by J. C. Mangan |
| “One grand cause of this uneasiness is, that Man is not at home.”—Godwin, Thoughts on Man. |
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MY spirit, alas, knoweth no rest! | |
| I lay under heaven’s blue dome, | |
| One day, in the summer beam, | |
| By the Mummelsee in the forest, | |
| And dreamed a dream | 5 |
| Of my Home— | |
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| My Home, the Home of my Father! | |
| Shone glory within and without; | |
| Shone bright in its garden bowers | |
| Such fruits as the angels gather, | 10 |
| And gold-hued flowers | |
| All about! | |
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| Alas! the illusion soon vanished. | |
| I awoke. There were clouds in the sky, | |
| My tears began to flow. | 15 |
| My quiet of soul was banished; | |
| I felt as though | |
| I could die! | |
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| And still with a heart ever swelling | |
| With yearnings,—and still with years | 20 |
| Overdarked by a desolate lot, | |
| I seek for my father’s dwelling, | |
| And see it not | |
| For my tears! | | | |
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