Gegenüber von Afrika (Facing Africa) (H. Hesse)
Good is the comfort of a home,
sweet to slumber under your own roof,
the comfort of children, a garden, and a dog.
But hardly returned from the last journey,
the wide, wild world lures you again.
Better to long to belong
while you wander alone under the stars
with your yearning your only companion.
To feel contained and serene
you must have found peace in your heart,
while the true wandering soul is always
weary and worn by broken dreams.
It is easier to bear the worries of wandering
than to find peace in your hometown,
where only the sage can live in a happy house
surrounded by trite troubles and daily distractions.
I prefer to seek and search without luck
instead of staying tied to snug comfort.
To me even good fortune is always only a brief visit
and never like a lasting home.
Mitternachts-Lied (Midnight Song) (F. Nietzsche)
see also the excellent book by K.P. Liessmann 1
O man! Take heed!
What saith deep midnight's voice indeed?
I slept my sleep—
From deepest dream I've woke and plead:—
The world is deep,
And deeper than the day could read.
Deep is its woe—
Lust—deeper still than grief can be:
Woe saith: Hence! Go!
But all Lust wants eternity—
Wants deep profound eternity!
What saith deep midnight's voice indeed?
I slept my sleep—
From deepest dream I've woke and plead:—
The world is deep,
And deeper than the day could read.
Deep is its woe—
Lust—deeper still than grief can be:
Woe saith: Hence! Go!
But all Lust wants eternity—
Wants deep profound eternity!
Mondnacht (Moonlit Night) (J.v. Eichendorff)
It was as if the sky
Kissed the earth silently,
That in the blossom's glow
Of it must now dream.
Kissed the earth silently,
That in the blossom's glow
Of it must now dream.
The breeze went through the fields,
The heads of grain gently swayed,
The woods rustled softly,
So starry was the night.
The heads of grain gently swayed,
The woods rustled softly,
So starry was the night.
And my soul stretched
Its wings wide,
And flew through the silent land,
As if it were flying home.
Its wings wide,
And flew through the silent land,
As if it were flying home.