ON yonder lofty mountain
A thousand times I stand,
And on my staff reclining,
Look down on the smiling land.
My grazing flocks then I follow,
My dog protecting them well;
I find myself in the valley,
But how, I scarcely can tell.
The whole of the meadow is cover’d
With flowers of beauty rare;
I pluck them, but pluck them unknowing
To whom the offering to bear.
In rain and storm and tempest,
I tarry beneath the tree,
But closed remaineth yon portal;
‘Tis all but a vision to me.
High over yonder dwelling,
There rises a rainbow gay;
But she from home hath departed
And wander’d far, far away.
Yes, far away bath she wander’d,
Perchance e’en over the sea;
Move onward, ye sheep, then, move onward!
Full sad the shepherd must be.
1803.*
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
More Poetry from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems based on Topics: Nature, Smiling, Beauty, Imagination & Visualization- Hermann And Dorothea - VI. Klio (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - IX. Urania (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - II. Terpsichore (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - IV. Euterpe (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - V. Polyhymnia (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - I. Kalliope (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Nature Poems, Beauty Poems, Smiling Poems, Imagination & Visualization PoemsBased on Keywords: portal, tarry, unknowing, grazing, remaineth, reclining