Restlessness

Perhaps it's him you're thinking of in solitude, beloved!
Because I never became what your heart desired,
You pushed me away, content with him instead;
Yet all of you still lives within my mind!

This tender light of night—
No longer brings me any delight.
Pushing away the day's every joy,
My heart seeks only your face.

The day you struck my heart and turned me away,
It shriveled, fearing it would lose itself,
And from that day all words have ceased upon my lips,
In place of you, even my own memories have vanished!

The secret ache of love unrequited,
Yet such longing still for union!

Wonder and joy lie buried beneath what deep melancholy!
The farther you go, the more my heart rebels against letting you leave!

The more you drift away, the more memory clings,
With open heart I see you clearer than before;
The pain of separation and its lingering trace wake each night,
Even when darkness ends and light comes, I press against this tear-soaked pillow.

Today I know that hope of winning you
Was false, and so was your love!

Knowing all this, still my heart's door opens for you alone!
Tell me—can such things ever be spoken to another soul, even by mistake?