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“A fool wrote three signs in the sand …” by Georg Trakl 🇦🇹 (3 Feb 1887 – 3 Nov 1914)
Translated from the German
A fool wrote three signs in the sand,
A pale maiden stood there before him.
Loudly the sea sang, o it sang.
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She held a cup in the hand,
Which gleamed up to the edge
Like blood so red and heavy.
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No word was spoken—the sun faded away,
Then the fool took the cup
Out of her hand and drank it empty.
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Then its light extinguished in her hand,
The wind blew away the three signs in the sand—
Loudly the sea sang, o it sang.