Sonnet V Poem by Mihai Eminescu

The years have passed like clouds across the dale;
The years have gone and will return no more,
For they no longer move me, as the lore
Of legend, and of song, and doina's tale


Brought wonder to my boyish brow of yore,
And mystery its meaning half unveil.
Your shade falls round me now to no avail,
O secret twilight hour on evening's shore.

To tear a sound out of the life that's gone,
To stir within my soul again its thrill
My hand upon the silent lyre is numb.

Ay, all is lost beneath youth's horizon,
The tender voice of bygone days is still,
While time rolls out behind me... night has come.

(Translated by Corneliu M. Popescu)