Poems from Eastern Sources: The Steadfast Prince; and Other Poems

Chapter 40: THE LOREY LEY. FROM THE GERMAN OF HEINE.

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About This Book

A varied poetic collection draws on Eastern legends, scriptural and European sources to present translations, adaptations, and original pieces that retell myths, parables, and ballads. Narrative poems render tales such as Alexander's quest and other legendary or folkloric episodes; lyric sequences explore seasons, love, faith, mortality, and moral aphorisms; additional pieces adapt German and Latin sources and include sonnets, ballads, and short fragments. The tone alternates between descriptive narrative, reflective meditation, and moral reflection, often framing Eastern imagery—gardens, fountains, courts, and deserts—to examine desire, righteousness, steadfastness, and the relationship between life and death. Notes clarify sources and degrees of translation.

THE LOREY LEY.
FROM THE GERMAN OF HEINE.

What makes me so heavy-hearted,

I ask of my heart in vain:

But a tale of the times departed

Haunts ever my heart and brain.

II.

In the cool air it waxes dimmer,

And quietly flows the Rhine:

And the mountain summits glimmer

In the sunny evening shine.

III.

There sits on the rocks a maiden

In marvellous beauty there.

With gold her apparel is laden,

And she combs her golden hair:

IV.

And the comb is of gold and glistens,

And thereto she sings a song,

Which for every soul that listens

Has a potent spell and strong.

The boatman in light boat speeding,

When he hears it, utters a cry,

No longer the rapids heeding,

But only gazing on high.

VI.

The stream is its wild waves flinging

O’er boat and boatman anon,

And ’tis this with her lovely singing

Which the Lorey Ley has done.