Oh, a swan!
Blooming in grace and power.
Were you thrown out of the forest of reeds by Pan
To flourish as a white rose-flower?
Do not doubt:
Over the tired waves
An unearthly light shines out;
He hides his bright plumage.
The face of the flood-tide
Grows clearer and clearer to see.
Poppy-milk ripples, runs wide,
Where the wings rested momentarily.
Image of woman,
He sings the deepest of deaths;
Out of the glass-cold dew
The sweet silence drips from his breath.
Cup of down,
Defenceless, utterly abandoning,
He has forgotten the sound
And the dreams by evening.
Floating, drifting,
Changed into golden grey,
The swan is singing
A song whose end is sadness and decay.
(Gertrud Kolmar)
More Poetry from Gertrud Kolmar:
Gertrud Kolmar Poems based on Topics: Woman, Death & Dying, Power, Doubt & Skepticism, Dreams, Faces- Die Dichterin (With English Translation) (Gertrud Kolmar Poems)
- The Woman Poet -- Translation of Die Dichterin (Gertrud Kolmar Poems)
- The Blessed (English Translation) (Gertrud Kolmar Poems)
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