Ah ! why have I built my Castle
On the shifting golden sand?
On the shores of the hungry ocean
Instead of the safe highland?
I ask myself, and I answer
These sands are the sands of youth,
And these waves are the surfs of passion
Of life, —and of death forsooth !
And I know in my heart I'd rather
Exist for but one short day
Where the breakers of life wash highest,
Love, live, and be swept away.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
To ditch 'live' in the third stanza would improve the meter and simplify the thought- both worthy goals. MM