| Margarete Münsterberg, ed., trans. A Harvest of German Verse. 1916. | | | | The Harper | | By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) |
| | | AH, he who seeketh solitude | |
| Is all too soon alone; | |
| Men live and love, but he must brood | |
| Upon his pain and moan. | |
| Leave agony with me! | 5 |
| When I at last shall be | |
| Quite lonely grown— | |
| I shall not be alone. | |
| |
| A lover steals upon his way | |
| To hark if his love be alone. | 10 |
| Thus pain steals o’er me night and day | |
| When I am lonely grown; | |
| And thus creeps agony. | |
| When I at last shall be | |
| Within my grave unknown: | 15 |
| Then I’ll be left alone! | | | | |
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