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)