Christel

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 (Frankfurt) – 1832 (Weimar)



My senses ofttimes are oppress'd,

Oft stagnant is my blood;
But when by Christel's sight I'm blest,

I feel my strength renew'd.
I see her here, I see her there,

And really cannot tell
The manner how, the when, the where,

The why I love her well.

If with the merest glance I view

Her black and roguish eyes,
And gaze on her black eyebrows too,

My spirit upward flies.
Has any one a mouth so sweet,

Such love-round cheeks as she?
Ah, when the eye her beauties meet,

It ne'er content can be.

And when in airy German dance

I clasp her form divine,
So quick we whirl, so quick advance,

What rapture then like mine!
And when she's giddy, and feels warm,

I cradle her, poor thing,
Upon my breast, and in mine arm,--

I'm then a very king!

And when she looks with love on me,

Forgetting all but this,
When press'd against my bosom, she

Exchanges kiss for kiss,
All through my marrow runs a thrill,

Runs e'en my foot along!
I feel so well, I feel so ill,

I feel so weak, so strong!

Would that such moments ne'er would end!

The day ne'er long I find;
Could I the night too with her spend,

E'en that I should not mind.
If she were in mine arms but held,

To quench love's thirst I'd try;
And could my torments not be quell'd,

Upon her breast would die.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:18 min read
129

Quick analysis:

Scheme A XA XB CB C D ED EF GF G H IH IX JX J G KG KL ML M N ON OP QP Q
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,208
Words 245
Stanzas 25
Stanza Lengths 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and politician. more…

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