Evening Song Poem by Wolfgang Steinmann

The moon has gently risen
The golden stars now glisten
In the sky so silver-bright;
The woods stand black - no rapture;
It lifts up from the pasture
A fog so wonderfully white.

The world in silence hovers
And now the twilight covers
It friendly and as sweet
As is a quiet chamber
Where all the day's wild clamber
You shall forget and you shall sleep.

And can you see the moon there?
We only see a half sphere
But it is round and pure.
In life there are so many
Things we laugh at, any
Of them to our eyes obscure.

We humans think we're winners
But are just wretched sinners
And do not know a lot;
We're building lofty perches
And go through crafty searches
But stray far from the chosen plot.

God, let us see your graces,
Not build on hollow places,
Not dwell in vanity;
Renew us through our rebirth
So we can live on your earth
In trust and joyful sanity.

And willst thou in the end, Lord,
Take us in your hand, Lord,
And give us gentle rest;
And when we are thus taken
We will not be forsaken
Dear Father, Our God be blessed!

So let us rest now, brother
And call upon our father
Cold is the evening's toll.
Forgive us, God, and end it
In peace, our sins amended.
And heal our neighbor's suff'ring soul.

(after Matthias Claudius, Abendlied (Der Mond ist aufgegangen)