In the dream I saw a little man, peculiar,
who walked on stilts and was clearly stepping out
in a clean white linen shirt and woolen coat,
but on the inside, he was dripping with mire.
Inside he was wretched, useless, lazy,
but his outer self could have been worthy and strong;
he talked about courage and carried on so long
I began to see he was obstinate—even crazy.
And do you know who that is? Come and see!
So spoke the dream-god, slyly showing a den
with a flood of pictures, all in some kind of mirror.
In the glass the little man was at an altar
next to my love, and each in turn murmured Yes!
And a thousand laughing demons cried Amen!
— Translated from the German of Heinrich Heine
by Terese Coe [1]
Links:
[1] https://www.ablemuse.com/v26/bio/terese-coe
[2] https://www.ablemuse.com/digital-books-26/v26/digital edition/Complete Digital Version of -/Able Muse, Print Edition (Number 26), Winter 2018