The waters hissed, the waters rose,
The Fisherman alongside,
Quietly gazing at his rod,
Cool at heart, inside.
And as he listens, as he sits,
The waters split and rise:
Out of the flowing waters hiss
A mermaid meets his eyes.
She sang to him, she spoke to him:
‘Why do you lure my children
With human art and cunning,
Up to their warm extinction?
Ah, if you knew how snugly
Little fish live in the deep,
You yourself would join me,
You’d be happy indeed.
Doesn’t the sweet Sun bathe
And the Moon, here, in the sea?
Show with the waves they breathe
Faces doubly bright to see?
Doesn’t this heavenly deep,
Lure you, this rain-clear blue?
Doesn’t your own gaze leap
Drawn down to eternal dew? ’
The water hissed, the water rose
Wetting his naked feet:
His heart so full of yearning, oh,
As if him his Love did greet.
She spoke to him, she sang to him:
All was soon done, and o’er:
She half pulling, he half sinking,
And he was seen nevermore.
By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) . Translated into English by A. S. Kline © Copyright 2004 All Rights Reserved. This work may be freely reproduced, stored, and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any non-commercial purpose.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
The poem is a powerful statement about the need for maintaining the purity of nature and not to disturb the ecology of this planet. The imagery is profound with an extremely delicate treatment of the subject. Thank you, Abdullah, for such a fine translation. I quote: A mermaid..... sang to him, she spoke to him: / ‘Why do you lure my children / With human art and cunning, / Up to their warm extinction?
You are so welcome. Thanks to you too for this pithy lovely words.