Poetry Archives

From the German of Heinrich Heine.


The Countess Jutta passed over the Rhine
In a light canoe by the moon’s pale shine.
The handmaid rows and the Countess speaks:
“Seest thou not there where the water breaks
        Seven corpses swim
        In the moonlight dim?
So sorrowful swim the dead!

“They were seven knights full of fire and youth,
They sank on my heart and swore me truth.
I trusted them; but for Truth’s sweet sake,
Lest they should be tempted their oaths to break,
        I had them bound,
        And tenderly drowned!
So sorrowful swim the dead!”

The merry Countess laughed outright!
It rang so wild in the startled night!
Up to the waist the dead men rise
And stretch lean fingers to the skies.
        They nod and stare
        With a glassy glare!
So sorrowful swim the dead!