And If I Shall Fall Asleep Poem by Peter Mamara

by M. Eminescu (1850-1889)

(Variant)

And if soon I shall fall asleep
In the night of nothingness,
Then take me to a place
— At the seashore.

I don't want a torch
Or a rich coffin, or flags,
You should weave for me a bed
Made from young branches of a tree.

My sleep should be in peace
And the woods close by,
And a clear sky should shine
On the vast waters of the sea

Which, in deep uproar
Break the surface of the seashore
And with arm of waves
— Splash on rock faces.

They raise and pull out fast
And relentlessly murmur.
When the moon lowers
— On woods of fir trees.

And no one behind me
Should cry at my head.
Only the dried foliage
Should rustle like death.

The One Who Knows Everything,
Should pass by with the wind
And shake the flowers of linden tree
— Above me.

And after that,
I won't be a wanderer anymore.
Memories,
Shall cover me with bliss.

What they won't realize,
— That I will peek at a world-of-desire.
While, climbing plants spread
— Over my loneliness.

(1883 December)

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