a letter to myself, on the occasion of the full moon in the month of May 2019 A.D.
I want to hurry to witness the pastel colours of a (sky at the time of) sun-rise – it is now near the time in the early morning when the birds, somewhat near my bed, start chirping after their nocturnal silence – so I shall endeavour to be concise.
Reportedly, the text of a work by a Gottfried August Bürger appears in a work of the famous Ludwig van Beethoven, “Gegenliebe”, WoO. 118 no. 2 (1794-95). (according to a web-site, the Internet-address of which I provide later).
That particular work of Bürger's has a title that has been translated, by a person whose name I am not aware of, as 'Reciprocal love'. I reproduce the German text below, and afterward provide a hyperlink to a web-site where I have seen an English translation – the same web-site above-mentioned.
Wüßt' ich, wüßt' ich, daß du mich
Lieb und wert ein bißchen hieltest,
Und von dem, was ich für dich,
Nur ein Hundertteilchen fühltest;
Daß dein Dank hübsch meinem Gruß'
Halben Wegs entgegen käme,
Und dein Mund den Wechselkuß
Gerne gäb' und wiedernähme:
Dann, o Himmel, außer sich,
Würde ganz mein Herz zerlodern!
Leib und Leben könnt' ich dich
Nicht vergebens lassen fodern! —
Gegengunst erhöhet Gunst,
Liebe nähret Gegenliebe,
Und entflammt zu Feuersbrunst,
Was ein Aschenfünkchen bliebe.
I saw the afore-mentioned English transation at: 'Love given, love returned...' in 'The LiederNet Archive'. http://www.lieder.net/get_text.html?TextId=33245
The translator of that particular 2007 translation: Bertram Kottmann; email address: BKottmann@t-online.de