THIS MAD CARNIVAL OF LOVING

by: Heinrich Heine (1799-1856)

      HIS mad carnival of loving,
      This wild orgy of the flesh,
      Ends at last and we two, sobered,
      Look at one another, yawning.
       
      Emptied the inflaming cup
      That was filled with sensuous potions,
      Foaming, almost running over--
      Emptied is the flaming cup.
       
      All the violins are silent
      That impelled our feet to dancing,
      To the giddy dance of passion--
      Silent are the violins.
       
      All the lanterns now are darkened
      That once poured their streaming brilliance
      On the masquerades and murmurs--
      Darkened now are all the lanterns.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY: LOUIS UNTERMEYER

"This Mad Carnival of Loving" is reprinted from Poetica Erotica. Ed. T.R. Smith. New York: Crown Publishers, 1921.

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