Are these pains or are these joys
That tug at my breast?
All the old desires fall away:
A thousand new flowers blossom forth.

In the dusk of my tears
I see suns standing in the distance
What pining! What longing!
Do I dare? Shall I approach?

Ah, when my tears are flowing,
Darkness surrounds me.
But if my desires do not return,
I have nothing to hope for.

So beat then, my striving heart!
So flow then, my tears!
Ah, joy is but a deeper pain;
Life is a dark grave.

Guiltless,
Should I then suffer?
How is it that in my dream
All my thoughts
fluctuate up and down!
I scarcely know myself anymore.

Hear me, O kindly stars,
Hear me, O meadow green,
And you, my love, hear my sacred oath:
I would rather die
Than be kept from you!
Ah! Only in the light of her gaze
Dwell life, hope and happiness!