time for a poem

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Heinrich Heine is always good for a poem. Even if one or two readers are likely to complain again, I find the following poem by Heine to be so appropriate that I now record it on my blog.

Happiness is an easy wench,
And doesn't like staying in the same place;
She brushes the hair from your forehead
And kisses you quickly and flutters away. 

On the contrary, Mrs. Misfortune has the opposite
Holding you close to my heart;
She says she's in no hurry,
Sits by your bed and knits.

Heinrich Heine, LAmentations (1851)

Romanzero by Heinrich Heine was published in Hamburg in 1851 by Hoffmann and Campe and consists of three books: Histories, Lamentations, where “Happiness is an easy prostitute” begins, and the Hebrew Melodies. A total of over 70 poems, everyone can find one that suits them best.

So here's another poem, this time from the third book, where it's also at the beginning.

Oh, don't leave without enjoying life
Your life will flow!
And are you safe from the shot,
So just let them shoot.

If luck passes you by once,
So grab it by the tip.
I also advise you to build your little hut in the valley
And not at the summit.

Heinrich Heine, Hebrew Melodies (1851)

And to make today's triple complete, the beginning of the first book is also included.

If you have been betrayed,
Be the more faithful;
And if your soul is grieved to death,
So take up the lyre.

The strings sound! A heroic song,
Full of flames and glow!
Then your anger melts and your mind melts
Will bleed sweetly.

Heinrich Heine, Histories (1851)

At the end of this article, the beginning of the afterword Heinrich Heine:

“I called this book Romanzero because the romantic tone is predominant in the poems collected here. With a few exceptions, I wrote them over the last three years, under various physical obstacles and torments.”

Heinrich Heine (1851)