We journey on — but whither lies our way?Where shall we rest, O little friend, I pray?
Toward gardens sweet with blossoms fresh and fair,With eyes of water and with murmuring air;
Or toward a blaze — accursed be that fire,With gasping breath and flames that never tire;
Whither, O lad, shall we our footsteps bend?We wandered lost where darkness has no end;
Whither, O herald of all good and grace,We wandered lost in hell's oppressive space;
Repeat the question, O my faithful friend,Who strives with eager pace toward journey's end;
Whilst furious winds sweep through the open sky,Where arrows strike us as they gallop by;
Time wore them down, and fate consumed their breath,In stillness, turmoil, and the grip of death;
And mist enveloped us in shroud of grey,So we took refuge in the hills that day;
The mist closed round us, reaching to the crest,We hid among the hills and cried for rest;
The night grew dark, and darkness wrapped us round,And night-winds scattered dust upon the ground;
The starry flowers sought their slumber deep,Weary from long procession's weary sweep;
They vanished, hidden from our sight by cloud,How many nights in this same strife they bowed;
How came we to this wilderness of woe?Why came we hither — dost thou truly know?
How came we hither with our sorrows dense,Why came we hither from the years long hence;
A caller cried from far horizon's rim,Drink tears from springs that never cease to brim;
Slay sorrow with a heart of iron made,And leave the chain to lovers in the shade;
This world is like a crocodile astray,Lost long in hopelessness, then passed away;
O friend, we wandered and we lost our way,We grew weary and we could no longer stay;
O friend, we wandered — yonder is the vale of wandering, come,We grew weary — let us dwell together in this sum;
Long grief and struggle have directed us,We'll spend our lives in these secluded lands,
Where no oppression reigns, no secret stands,...and at the last, where no heart is bought and sold,
If in our wandering we find some gleam of light,Then to the world and all therein — good night.
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