 | Forest Songs and Other Poems |  |
46
SWALLOW FLIGHT.
1
Yes, once more; for, like the swallowHolding in her heart the vision
Of her nesting-nook last summer,
Back I fly to thee, my Forest!
2
So farewell to Freiburg minster,Where the angels of the sunshine,
Gliding in through glowing windows,
On their plumes bring peace from heaven.
3
Where the sunset-angels freely,Through the spire of airy fretwork
Wing their way, and, for mere love's sake,
Kiss the cowering gargoyle-demons.
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4
Not the Himmelreich detains us,With its slopes of orchard-meadow,
Not the Höllenthal beguiles us,
With its crags and misty pinewoods.
5
Past the meadow and the pinewood,Lumbering in the dull Post-Wagen,
Little boots it that our thought flies
With the swiftness of the swallow;
6
Lumbering on, or glad to leave them,Changing horses, beer imbibing,
While we breathe the balmy freshness,
And trudge onward, rain defying.
7
Till at last we leave behind usMist, and rain, and dull Post-Wagen,
And we seek the friendly Gasthof,
Timbered from its native pinewood.
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8
There my Forest darkly stretchesOver dale and over mountain;
There my Titi-See lies sparkling,
Shimmering back the sunlit spruces.
| Forest Songs and Other Poems | |