Matthias Claudius
(1740-1815; North German, edited a literary periodical; friend of Klopstock; in the first poem the ‘moon’, der Mond, is masculine in German and thus Claudius uses the pronoun ‘he’, er, throughout while I have chosen to use ‘it’ to avoid any unintended allusions…)
A Lullaby, to be sung by Moonlight
So go to sleep now my little one!
Why do you weep?
Rest is soft and sweet
In the moonlight.
Sleep comes more quickly
And easily:
The moon delights in children
And loves them.
It likes little boys,
But little girls even more,
Pours down fine friendly gifts
From way up there
When they suckle,
Quite wonderfully,
Gives them blue eyes
And blond hair.
Old as a raven is the moon,
Sees many a land;
My father already knew it
When he was a lad.
And soon after her confinement
Mother once
Talked to the moon about me:
She was sitting in the valley
At eventide,
Her breast uncovered,
As I lay on her lap,
Gazing.
She gazed at me, in joy
A tear ran down,
The moon shone on us both,
I lay and slept.
Then said she: ‘O moon! Shine on,
I love her so,
Shine down happiness on my little one!’
Her eye long clung
To the moon
And begged for more.
The moon began to tremble
As if it had heard,
And now it keeps on thinking
Of that look,
And shines down here
From way up there
With sheer happiness upon me.
It shone into my bride’s face
Under my garland sweet,
And at my dance of honour −
You weren’t yet around.
Motet when the First Tooth Broke Through
Victoria! Victoria!
The little white tooth is there.
Oh mother! Come, and everybody big
and small! Come and have a look inside
and see the bright white gleam!
The tooth shall be called Alexander.
O dear child! May God keep it healthy for you,
And give you more teeth in your little mouth,
And always something for them to bite on!
Passing on the Flame 