Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Karel van de Woestijne

I am alone and sad ...

I am alone and sad, as the soft gold evening dims ...

Through the open window I hear the downy fall
of clammy flowers in a crystal bowl ...

– And I do not know if I shall love her,
in the quiet and lightsome movement of her limbs,
and in her goodness in my strange existence ...

I’m sad, and I hear her quiet footsteps going,
and her soft humming, in the garden, down below.

\'k Ben eenzaam droef, in \'t geel-teêr avond-dalen ...

\'k Ben eenzaam droef, in \'t geel-teêr avond-dalen ...

Door \'t open venster hoor \'k den donzen val
van klamme bloemen in krystallen schale ... 

— En \'k weet niet of ik haar beminnen zal,
in \'t stil en licht bewegen harer leden,
en hare goedheid in mijn vreemd bestaan ...

\'k Ben droef, en \'k hoor haar stille voeten gaan,
en haar zacht neuren, in den tuin, beneden.
Close

I am alone and sad ...

I am alone and sad, as the soft gold evening dims ...

Through the open window I hear the downy fall
of clammy flowers in a crystal bowl ...

– And I do not know if I shall love her,
in the quiet and lightsome movement of her limbs,
and in her goodness in my strange existence ...

I’m sad, and I hear her quiet footsteps going,
and her soft humming, in the garden, down below.

I am alone and sad ...

I am alone and sad, as the soft gold evening dims ...

Through the open window I hear the downy fall
of clammy flowers in a crystal bowl ...

– And I do not know if I shall love her,
in the quiet and lightsome movement of her limbs,
and in her goodness in my strange existence ...

I’m sad, and I hear her quiet footsteps going,
and her soft humming, in the garden, down below.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère