At the Edge of the Quay, Poem by Emile Verhaeren

Poem by Emile Verhaeren Period 19th century

And what matters where those who leave have come from,
If they always hear a deep cry
At the crossroads of doubts!
My body is heavy, my body is weary,
I want to stay, I cannot;
The harsh universe is a fabric of roads
Woven of wind and light;
Better to depart, without arriving,
Than to sit down, even victorious, in the evening,
Before one’s customary work,
With, in one’s bleak heart, a life
That ceases to leap beyond life.

Emile Verhaeren

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/poem-at-the-edge-of-the-quay-emile-verhaeren/