| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893. | | | | Translations | | Prelude |
| | | As treasures that men seek, | |
| Deep buried in sea-sands, | |
| Vanish if they but speak, | |
| And elude their eager hands,— | |
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| So ye escape and slip, | 5 |
| O songs, and fade away, | |
| When the word is on my lip | |
| To interpret what ye say. | |
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| Were it not better, then, | |
| To let the treasures rest | 10 |
| Hid from the eyes of men | |
| Locked in their iron chest? | |
| |
| I have but marked the place, | |
| But half the secret told, | |
| That, following this slight trace, | 15 |
| Others may find the gold. | | | | |
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