An Anthology of Czechoslovak Literature/From the Depths
OTAKAR FISCHER
(b. 1883)
From the Depths
Ye hostile stars,
Under the tent of the sorrowing heavens
Which blaze in silvery array;
Unto you, that amid the abyss of my spiri
Have hurled the torch of dreams,
Invisible I call,
I, whirling atom of dust.
O wherefore after a day stifling and laden
With fugitive pondering
Did ye kindle in my senses
Outcry of yearning for the endless
And terror of my very self?
Which awaits in placid meekness
Moisture of coming days:
I lived, a man amid mortals,
Unaware that he moves in the universe
Towards unending change.
Now across the furrows of my acre
A fire is wafted, and my heart,
My mortal heart is enkindled,
Death am I now, and life and belief and rapture—
God’s shadow has fallen on me.
(1914)
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930. The longest-living author of this work died in 1938, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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| Translation: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1930. The longest-living author of this work died in 1970, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
