I found the following interesting and whimsical verse written by a Polish poet named Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz (1758 – 1841):
Upon this lonely margin of a far-off sea,
Behold! With tears I trace thy well-beloved name;
With it, the dawn comes, crown’d with roses, back to me,
But wild waves wash the record out, erase thy fame.
I carved it on a tree-trunk, wrote it on the sand;
But moss soon marr’d it here, and there the tempest’s hand.
Only one signature shall never more depart —
‘Tis that which love’s red brand has burn’d into my heart.
The English translation was provided by Watson Kirkconnell in his 1936 book titled A Golden Treasury of Polish Lyrics.
For those who can read Polish, the original version can be found in Dzieła Poetyczne, Wierszem I Prozą J. U. Niemcewicza, Vol. 2 (1836). I have also included it here:
Na tym samotnym brzegu odległego morza,
Egle! ze łzami piszę imię twe kochane:
Lecz nim zejdzie rźami uwieńczona zorza,
Zetrą je w swym zapędzie wody rozhukane.
Pisałem je na piasku, pisałem na drzewie,
Te mech zakrył, tamte wiatr zdmuchnął w swym powiewie
Egle! te tylko znaki nigdy nic nie wzruszy,
Któreś ognistym grotem wyryła w mej duszy.
Typing this was a challenge.
Strong, sharp, concise enjoyed reading it. I have written a Villanelle do check it out Here
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Stunningly beautiful. Thank you fo sharing. 💕
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You’re welcome.
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I do not read Polish but loved the English version. Now I know a little about the Poles.
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Reading the Polish version was a challenge too. Lovely!
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Thank you for these verses. I am Sicilian and I would never have thought that a Polish would have gotten to Sicily to write about his love. It is clear that Sicily inspires everyone but above all the poets in love
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I can imagine the challenge!!
Beautiful poem😊
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“Upon this lonely margin of a far-off sea” is THE way to start a poem. Wow!
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This is beautiful!
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