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THE BLISS OF ABSENCE. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Goethe’s Works, vol. 1 (Poems) [1885]

Edition used:

Goethe’s Works, illustrated by the best German artists, 5 vols. (Philadelphia: G. Barrie, 1885). Vol. 1.

Part of: Goethe’s Works, 5 vols.

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THE BLISS OF ABSENCE.

    • DRINK, O youth, joy’s purest ray
    • From thy lov’d one’s eyes all day,
    • And her image paint at night!
    • Better rule no lover knows,
    • Yet true rapture greater grows,
    • When far sever’d from her sight.
    • Powers eternal, distance, time,
    • Like the might of stars sublime,
    • Gently rock the blood to rest.
    • O’er my senses softness steals,
    • Yet my bosom lighter feels,
    • And I daily am more bless’d.
    • Though I can forget her ne’er,
    • Yet my mind is free from care,
    • I can calmly live and move;
    • Unperceiv’d infatuation
    • Longing turns to adoration,
    • Turns to reverence my love.
    • Ne’er can cloud, however light,
    • Float in ether’s regions bright,
    • When drawn upwards by the sun,
    • As my heart in rapturous calm.
    • Free from envy and alarm,
    • Ever love I her alone!