Christmas

by Jaroslav Vrchlicky (1853-1912)
English Translation Copyright C 1996 by
Jirina Fuchsova


Voice of the bells sounds over drifting snow,
dying afar, quiet and muffled, smooth...
Within the heart all strings with music glow,
when gently touched with fingers of our youth...

If snowy branches ever so slightly clang,
theirs starry crystals shatter on the ground...
From roofs above, icicles downward hang,
as some enormous nature's organ pipes.

Earth, as if strewn with lilies white...
Wherever snow has fallen, there it shines...
God lighted people's faces, windows bright,
and above us - all the stars in the skies...

And ancient carols resound in my soul,
and dreams of childhood toward Manger bound
walk 'round my head, as -- in the drifting snow --
the voice of bells drowning without a sound...

My spirit, again, is overcome with joy,
a simple sigh floods my heart with delight...
And the bells sound, the lights are all aglow -----
Oh Christmas Night! Oh Christmas, Christmas Night!