Why sway, O forest,
With no rain, with no wind,
Your branches to the ground?
—Why should I not sway,
If all my time goes by!
Day dwindles, night increases,
Leaves grow thin in pieces,
The wind stripes leaf and sky—
The cuckoo sings, the leaf is long,
The fledglings leave the empty nest—
They vanish into flight.
—Why should I not sway,
If all my time goes by!
—Pass, girl, pass, beloved,
Rest a heartbeat in my shade;
Give me your lips, let me bend
And crown you with… husk.
—Forest with your thinning leaf,
Do not crown me for a summer.
—Why should I not sway,
If all my time goes by!