The Sunset

The Sunset
translation of an untitled poem by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

A girl stood by the ocean,
sighing long and longingly,
for she was much affected by
the sunset on the sea.

“My lady, this old story?
Allow me to ease your mind.
It goes down here in front of us
and comes back up behind.”
1979
Written when I was a teenager.
Here Heine makes fun of the Romantics and of 19th century sentimentality. I can’t find my original copy of the translation, so the year may be off slightly. In any case, I revised it before posting.