A. R. Aldrich. Heine. Friedlander, Joseph, comp. 1917. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse

Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.

Heine

By A. R. Aldrich


GOD said: “I will make a poet,”
And a soul was sent below
With the singer’s wings of rapture,
With the sufferer’s weight of woe.

God laid on the eyes the poet’s	5
Awful gift of second sight,
On the restless, questioning spirit,
All the blackness of the night.

On the body, pangs of torture,
Hell’s own pains and love’s sharp sting;	10
Doubt you woe must dow’r the poet?
Hush, draw close and hear him sing!