When the almighty
Father of all things,
Using his steady hand,
Calmly unleashed his shafts
Of lightning through the world,
Scattering on Earth
His celestial light,
I kissed the hems
And folds of his garments,
And my faith-filled heart
Filled with childlike awe.
Let no man compare
His mind and his strength
With that of the Gods.
When he tries to extend
His arms and tries to
Reach the twinkling stars,
He loses his footing,
And tumbles and falls,
Or helplessly drifts
In a sea of clouds.
Yet if he stands strong
With a firm foothold
On the earth's lasting
Foundations,
How does he compare
With the solemn oak
Or the aged vine?
What becomes his worth?
This is the difference
Between Gods and man:
The waves rush onward
In one endless stream,
But unlike we mortals,
The Gods are unmoved—
The waves swallow us
And carry us off.
Our life is rounded
In a little ring:
Many generations
Succeed each other
On the eternal chain
Of our existence.
Translation © David B. Gosselin