I greet the challenge of the dawn
With weary, bleary eyes;
Into the sky so ashen wan
I wait the sun to rise;
Then in the morning's holy hush,
With heart of shame I hear
A robin from a lilac bush
Pipe pure and clear.
All night in dive and dicing den,
With wantons and with wine
I've squandered on wild, witless men
The fortune that was mine;
The gold my father fought to save
In folly I have spent;
And now to fill a pauper's grave
My steps are bent.
See! how the sky is amber bright!
The thrushes thrill their glee.
The dew-drops sparkle with delight,
And yonder smiles the sea.
Oh let me plunge to drown the pain
Of love and faith forgot:
Then purged I may return again,
--Or I may not.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I enjoyed reading this memory of a dissolute, money-wasting night. Regrets in the morning. Brilliant ending 'I may return again, / -Or I may not'.