O Nature!
I do not
To be the highest in thy choir, -To be a meteor in thy sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy
Where to run my airy race.
In some withdrawn, unpublic
Let me sigh upon a reed,
Or in the woods, with leafy din,
Whisper the still evening in:
Some still work give me to do, -Only - be it near to you!
For I'd rather be thy
And pupil, in the forest wild,
Than be the king of men elsewhere,
And most sovereign slave of care;
To have one moment of thy dawn,
Than share the city's year forlorn.
