Of All The Ships

Of all the ships the ocean rolls How many find untimely graves Piled high by you upon the shoals, O waves and winds, o winds and waves? How many a bird that leaves its bower And o’er the sky in autumn droves You beat and blindly overpower, O waves and winds, o winds and waves? Should easy luck or high endeavour Be our aim it little saves, For you pursue our footsteps ever, O waves and winds, o winds and waves? Still, it is past our comprehending What design your song enslaves, Rolling on until time’s ending, O waves and winds, o winds and waves? (Translated by Corneliu M. Popescu)