DRINK, oh youth, joy's purest ray <br />From thy loved one's eyes all day, <br /> <br />And her image paint at night! <br />Better rule no lover knows, <br />Yet true rapture greater grows, <br /> <br />When far sever'd from her sight. <br /> <br />Powers eternal, distance, time, <br />Like the might of stars sublime, <br /> <br />Gently rock the blood to rest, <br />O'er my senses softness steals, <br />Yet my bosom lighter feels, <br /> <br />And I daily am more blest. <br /> <br />Though I can forget her ne'er, <br />Yet my mind is free from care, <br /> <br />I can calmly live and move; <br />Unperceived infatuation <br />Longing turns to adoration, <br /> <br />Turns to reverence my love. <br /> <br />Ne'er can cloud, however light, <br />Float in ether's regions bright, <br /> <br />When drawn upwards by the sun, <br />As my heart in rapturous calm. <br />Free from envy and alarm, <br /> <br />Ever love I her alone!<br /><br />Johann Wolfgang von Goethe<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-bliss-of-absence/
