Johann von Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832)
Blessed Longing
Tell no one else, only the wise
For the crowd will sneer at one
I wish to praise what is fully alive,
What longs to flame toward death.
When the calm enfolds the love-nights
That created you, where you have created
A feeling from the Unknown steals over you
While the tranquil candle burns.
You remain no longer caught
In the peneumbral gloom
You are stirred and new, you desire
To soar to higher creativity.
No distance makes you ambivalent.
You come on wings, enchanted
In such hunger for light, you
Become the butterfly burnt to nothing.
So long as you have not lived this:
To die is to become new,
You remain a gloomy guest
On the dark earth.
Translated by John O'Donohue
Johann von Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832) was a German writer, scientist, poet, statesman, and critic who is widely considered the most influential writer in German. This poem comes from his last cycle of poety called the East-West Divan, that was inspired by his engagement with the 14th century Persian poet, Hafiz. This translation is from John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom (Harper Perennial: 2022).
Selected by Amy Frykholm: amy@journeywithjesus.net
