The Moon over Mtatsminda
My eyes
have never seen the moon so lovely as tonight;
In
silence wrapt it is the breathless music of the night.
Moonbeams embroider shadows with fine thread of silver light;
O, eyes
have never seen the sky so lovely as tonight!
The moon
adorned in beams of pearls seems like a queen divine;
The
stars like fire-flies tangled in a web about her shine.
The
Mtkvari flows a silver stream of lambent beauty bright;
O, eyes
have never seen the sky so lovely as tonight!
Here in
immortal calm and peace the great and noble sleep
Beneath
the soft and dewy turf in many a mouldering heap.
Here
Baratashvili came with wild desires to madness wrought,
Oppressed by raging fires of passion, and perplexing thought.
O, could I
like the swan pour forth my sould in melody
That
melts the mortal heart and breathes of immortality !
Let my
free song fly far beyond this world to regions high
Where
on the wings of poesy it will glorify the sky.
If death
approaching makes the fragrance of the roses sweeter,
Attunes
the soul to melodies that make all sadness dearer,
And if
that swan's song thus becomes a denizen of heaven,
If in
that song she feels that death will be but ecstasy, then, -
Let me
like her sing one last song, and in death find delight.
So
breathless still and lovely I have never seen the night!
O, mighty
dead, let me die here beside you as I sing.
I am a
poet, and to eternity my song I fling,
And let
it be the fire that warms and lights the spirit's flight.
O, eyes
have never seen the sky so lovely as tonight!