European Elegies/Autumn (1)/In the cemetery
7.IN THE CEMETERY
I sought the cemetery, where the sod
Shrouds with its green the symbols of decay—
The mounds where Age lies quiet in the clod
And Beauty is forever laid away.
Shrouds with its green the symbols of decay—
The mounds where Age lies quiet in the clod
And Beauty is forever laid away.
I gazed upon a newly opened grave,
Three feet across, a fatal fathom deep,
The last cold bed that tired mortals crave,
Where human thought is stilled in endless sleep.
Three feet across, a fatal fathom deep,
The last cold bed that tired mortals crave,
Where human thought is stilled in endless sleep.
My heart sighed bitterly in sick dismay;
My clenched hands beat my bosom with a groan;
My plaint paid ghastly tribute to Decay,
And the dank tombs gave back a hollow moan.
My clenched hands beat my bosom with a groan;
My plaint paid ghastly tribute to Decay,
And the dank tombs gave back a hollow moan.
From the Slovene of Simon Jenko.