Happiness, enjoyment, sorrow,
Glory, gain, pathetic fall
All these will be gone tomorrow,
Poor dark shadows on a wall.

Heaps of money, real treasures,
Goods, estates and many shares,
Will provide sweet, earthly pleasures
To the poor and greedy heirs.

Only change is everlasting
And it turns the world around
Death's stillness is disgusting,
As the prophets always found.

The old Sphinx watches with sorrow
How we think that we are kings
Knowing that today, tomorrow,
Time erases all the things.

On mountain top it's easier to walk
And all your feelings now are so profound
That if you sit in silence on a rock
You sense that God is everywhere around.

Under the clouds, the world is out of sight
With all its worries, suffering and dearth,
But on the ridge the sun is shining bright
And you can see the edges of the Earth.

From time to time, an eagle soars on high
In the crisp air, to start from there a chase,
And the chamois enchants your watchful eye
When jumps on rocky slopes with perfect grace.

Surrounded by so many wondrous things
Your heavy body quickly becomes light,
The soul feels free and spreads its flaming wings
And you are caught in its majestic flight.

Hidden somewhere, in a forgotten case,
Full of white dust and lonely as a ghost,
Lies an old picture, quiet in its place,
The one that in the past I liked the most.

I wanted many times to take it out,
Feeling that I was totally unjust,
But every night and day I was in doubt,
I didn't want to rummage in the dust.

And maybe in the darkness, every year,
The colors faded and I'm feeling sad
Because this picture, which I held so dear,
It might be tarnished, looking very bad.

But even if I leave it in its case
And it will never see again the light
It will remain, with its discolored face,
The picture that once gave me much delight.

If I were a painter
Every day, I know,
I'd paint you in colors,
Which will always glow.

If I were a sculptor
Working all alone,
I'd carve you a statue
From a precious stone.

If I were a potter
Bent over the wheel
I'd knead your soft body
With the greatest zeal.

If I were an angel
From the starry sky
I'd make you immortal
With my holy eye.

Yet, I'm just a plain man
With an honest view,
I can do no other,
But to care for you.

I wonder, where did you go
Since right now you are away
And I miss you night and day...
I wonder, where did you go?

Maybe you are in the clouds
For they're white and please the eye
And float freely in the sky...
Maybe you are in the clouds.

Maybe you are in ravenes
In the mountains steep and bold
Facing rain and bitter cold...
Maybe you are in ravenes.

Maybe you are in the sea
Hidden deep in coral reefs
To forget about your griefs...
Maybe you are in the sea.

I wonder, where did you go
Since right now you are away
And I miss you night and day...
I wonder, where did you go?

Youth is fleeting, man grows old
Like a flower in full bloom,
Which at nightfall, when it's cold
Withers quickly in the gloom.

Beauty is a pleasant mask,
Which now fills you with delight,
But one day, it will not ask
And will vanish out of sight.

Bliss is like delicious food,
But there's no one who can say
Why, when it's in playful mood,
Through your fingers slips away.

Love is wondrous, love is odd,
It's the game of life for two
Given by All Mighty God,
Who then takes it back, it's true.

Richness sometimes stays around
To the very day you die
You may live like a king crowned,
You may be a wealthy guy,

But, alas, this is the truth:
You can't buy an honest kiss,
Beauty, love, your years of youth
Or at least a drop of bliss.

What a joy, my heart now is beating loud
I can hear your footsteps out into the night,
But it's just the wind blowing from a cloud,
Which spreads all the leaves almost without fight.

Now your voice resounds telling me so clear
Many words of love in a gentle way
But it's just the river, flowing around here,
Which is rather tensed and upset today.

I'm surprised to hear your sweet laugh again
Somewhere in the forest, near the little creek,
But it's just a pecker, seemingly insane,
Hitting all the tree trunks with its steely beak.

Yet, this time I'm sure you are calling me
And your thrilling whispers fill me with delight –
What a disappointment, what else can it be?
Oh, the tiny raindrops falling in the night.