Lisa, gazing at the stars

poem by Mathias Claudius translated and recreated by Ruth Salles

blackboard drawing by teacher Verônica Calandra Martins

.

Long after the night descends
and that the house sleeps
and my work is done,
I look at the starry sky.

I look at the scattered stars
like sheep in the meadow,
or like pearls in a row
on a delicate string.

They all sparkle in the vastness,
bright and beautiful.
It's never enough for my heart
contemplate and see them.

It says in my chest it beats
under the starry sky:
“There is something much higher
than pain and than pleasure.”

Here's what I'm always looking for
from the bottom of my soul,
when I lay down to rest
in the middle of the calm night.

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