Song Of The Spirits Over The Water

The spirit of Man Resembles water: Coming from heaven, Rising to heaven, And hither and thither, To Earth must then Ever descend. It leaps from the heights Of the sheer cliff, In a pure stream, Then rises sweetly In clouds of spray Against smooth stone, And lightly received Flows like a veil Streaming softly To depths beneath. When the sheer rocks Hinder its fall, It foams angrily Flowing stepwise Into the void. Along its flat bed It wanders the vale, And on the calm lake All the bright stars Gaze at their faces. Wind is the water’s Sweet lover: Wind stirs up foaming Waves from the deep. Spirit of Man How like water you are! Man’s fate, oh, How like the wind!