by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, prose translation by Hyde Flippo

Über allen Gipfeln                                                                           Over all the hilltops
Ist Ruh,                                                                                                 is calm.
In allen Wipfeln                                                                                In all the treetops
Spürest du                                                                                          you feel
Kaum einen Hauch;                                                                         hardly a breath of air.
Die Vögelein schweigen in Walde.                                          The little birds fall silent in the woods.
Warte nur, balde                                                                              Just wait . . . soon
Ruhest du auch.                                                                                you’ll also be at rest.


From Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, edited by Anthony and Ben Holden, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014, page 14. With thanks to Gary Hotham for sharing this with me.