Housewarming

You're not cheerful! I was cheerful, So I tell my friends of mirth, But I've fallen out of love with life's joy And invited sorrow to move in.

I was cheerful and my bright gaze Was not saddened; with heavy torment The heart was unacquainted; the dark garden And blue sky with boredom Did not weary me—I was glad...

When the blizzard raged And thunder crashed, and rain rang, And the sky wept and grew sad, Then I too: a tear trembled, Like the storm I wept...

But the sky brightened, the tempest fled And again I was glad and cheerful...

Now, like autumn, youth is fading. Gloomy, I cannot be merry, And I pine in silence, And wild, joy is no joy to me.

Laughing, my friends say to me: "Why have you wept? The weather Has cleared and is bright, And nature is not dark like you."

And I answer: I don't care, Whatever the day, all the year's changes! Whether light or dark, it's all the same When there's a storm in this heart!