I seek freedom and repose:

I'm alone on the path just taken;
Glittering, it stretches through the fog;
Quiet night. All harkens to the Maker,
And two stars begin a dialogue.

It is grand and solemn in the heavens!
In the azure radiance Earth rests...
Why then does my heart seem so heavy?
Do I hope? Or do I have regrets?

No, for I hope no longer,
And do not regret the past at all;
I seek freedom and repose, while longing
To obtain them in a sleep withal!

But it's not a deathlike sleep I crave for...
I would rather fall asleep, yet live,
For my dormant chest might keep its vigor,
For my dormant chest might mutely heave;

For I would with joy forever listen
To a gentle voice that sings of love,
For an oak tree, always green and blissful,
Would caress me rustling from above