Fortuities - In High School,

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09 June 2007 @ 11:33 am

In High School,

I had this copy of Ateneo's Heights. There was one short story there that I loved. It started with an excerpt:
"At midnight/I sent out my thoughts/out in the horizon/No shining thought/gave me comfort/at midnight."

I lost the book somewhere. Never found it again, I don't even remember what the story was called. But that poem got stuck in the cluttered crevices of my mind even up until now.

Google found out this written by Friedrich Rückert, a German poet. Below is a translation by Emily Ezust.

Un Mitternacht
(At Midnight)

At midnight
I awoke
and gazed up to heaven;
No star in the entire mass
did smile down at me
at midnight.

At midnight
I projected my thoughts
out past the dark barriers.
No thought of light
brought me comfort
at midnight.

At midnight
I paid close attention
to the beating of my heart;
One single pulse of agony
flared up
at midnight.

At midnight
I fought the battle,
of Mankind, of your suffering;
I could not decide it
with my strength
at midnight.

At midnight
I surrendered my strength
into your hands!
Lord! over death and life
You keep watch
at midnight!

At midnight, I projected my thoughts out past the dark barriers. No thought of light brought me comfort at midnight. It's gonna take me next month to receive that shining thought I've been waiting for.