Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, GERMANY; A WINTER TALE: CAPUT 13, by HEINRICH HEINE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

GERMANY; A WINTER TALE: CAPUT 13, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The sun arose near paderborn
Last Line: Thou dost suffer a sad expiation.
Subject(s): Censorship; Germany; Germans


THE sun arose near Paderborn.
With a look by no means bright'ning
In fact he leads but a sorry life,
This wretched earth enlight'ning.

As soon as he has lighted one side,
And hastens with beams all sparkling
To lighten the other, already the first
Is getting gloomy and darkling.

Poor Sisyphus' stone keeps rolling down,
The Danaids' bucket never
Gets fill'd, and to lighten this earthly ball
In vain is the sun's endeavour.

And when the mist of morning dispersed,
I saw by the wayside projecting
In the early glow, His figure, who died
On the cross a death so affecting.

I'm filled with dejection every time
That I see Thee, my poor Relation,
Whose mission was to redeem the world,
And be mankind's salvation.

A sorry trick they play'd Thee indeed,
The lords of the Council stately;
O why didst Thou speak of Church and State
In a manner to wound them greatly?

To Thy misfortune the printing art
To mortals had then not been given,
Or else a book had been written by Thee
On the subjects relating to heaven.

The Censor would then have erased whate'er
Satirical seem'd in its diction,
And so the loving censorship
Have saved Thee from crucifixion.

Ah! if for Thy sermon on the mount
Another text Thou hadst taken!
Sufficient genius and talent were Thine,
And the pious Thou need'st not have shaken.

Money-changers and bankers Thou drov'st with the
From the temple, in just indignation --
Unhappy Euthusiast! Now on the cross
Thou dost suffer a sad expiation.





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