‘Twilight’ by Louisa Siefert (1845–1877) I cannot help but feel a wistful, quiet woe As a leaf gently falls — as the day, fading, ends. More than pride, more than pain, at this moment I know The part of me that dreams will break unless it bends. The falling leaf…

‘He who made the world formed’ by Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585) He who made the world formed In the breadth of his own perfect image, Crowning it with the vaults of his temple, Commanded me, by fate, to be your slave. Like the spirit which is born in holy fashion …

‘Song of a fisherman’ by Marie-Emilie Maryon de, Baronne de Prinzen, (1736–1812) Pleasure, Not constancy, Desire Without perseverance, That is my only pleasure, I owe all my gaiety to it. My state can offer the image Of the wiles inspired by love; And here, on the shore, What I do…

‘The muse’ by William Henry Davies (1871–1940) I have no ale, No wine I want; No ornaments, My meat is scant. No maid is near, I have no wife; But here’s my pipe And, on my life: With it to smoke, And woo the Muse, To be a king I…

‘My song of love! I sing you out’ by Jenny Blicher-Clausen (1865–1907) My Love Song of Praise! I sing you out from the prison walls, Let you rise with the mist to the sky and glide in the sunshine over the city! You cannot be caught in cages! Even if…

‘I think I could turn and live with animals’ by Walt Whitman (1819–1892) I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain’d, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie…

‘The song of life’ by Otto Erich Hartleben (1864–1905) Great is life and rich! The eternal gods gave it to us. full of smiling benevolence, gave it to us, the mortals, to us who were created for joy. But poor is the heart of man! Quickly becoming despondent, it forgets…

‘The Awakening’ by Louise Colet (1810–1876) Winter is over The earth regains its youth My love, do you not feel the warm breeze that caresses us? Do you not smile as the sun warms our souls and quickens our spirit? Do you not welcome the mist that disperses the tearful…

‘Cease, anxious world’ by George Etheredge (1635? — 1691) Cease, anxious world, your fruitless pain, To grasp forbidden store; Your studied labours shall prove vain, Your Alchemy unblest, While seeds of far more precious ore Are ripen’d in my breast. My breast, the forge of happier love, Where my Lucinda…