Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AN EXILE'S HYMN AT THE SUNSET OF THE SEA, by JULJUSZ SLOWACKI


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AN EXILE'S HYMN AT THE SUNSET OF THE SEA, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I grieve, o god; for my sake in the west
Last Line: I'll grieve, o god!
Subject(s): Exiles


I grieve, O God; for my sake in the west,
Thou spread'st the rainbow streaming bright and far:
Beneath my feet, in azure waters drest,
Thou hid'st a fiery star;
Though sky and sea a lovely crimson are:
I grieve, O God!

Just as an infant with sad, wistful gaze
Bends o'er the mother whose dear life is done,
So bend I o'er the last, long, level rays
Of the half-sunken sun;
Although his daily course he'll always run,
I grieve, O God!

An upright corn-ear with a poor, lean head --
I stand with joyless, discontented eyes;
'Fore men, may quietude my face o'erspread --
The quiet of the skies;
But before thee, my heart's deep -- open lies:
I grieve, O god!

Whilst widely straying o'er the ocean vast,
Where league on league of endless billows flow,
Today, a flock of storks came flying past,
Ranged in a single row;
I saw them once in Poland long ago:
I grieve, O God!

Alas! -- So oft I've brooded over graves;
So dimly I remember my own home;
Am so like the poor wanderer who braves
Lightning and hail to roam.
Where is my grave? -- Rest, when I'll cease to roam --
And grieve, O God!

Alas! -- My bleached bones shall find no room
Beneath the guard of Churchyard monument;
I almost envy -- when I see a tomb --
The dust, where all are blent;
I have an unknown grave -- my banishment.
I grieve, O God!

In my homeland, an innocent young child
Prays for me daily; but alas! I know
My barque sails no more home, but o'er a wild
Strange sea must ever go;
That children's prayers -- and tears -- should
fruitless flow;
I grieve, O God!

At the bright rainbow, which Thy Angels spread
So gloriously great in yonder sky,
Others, when I a hundred years am dead,
Looking -- will die;
Until -- at length -- my "dust to dust" will lie:
I'll Grieve, O God!






Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net