Hoelderlin, The God is near, and hard to grasp

Hoelderlin's Poems, Patmos, - here translated by James Mitchell

For far too long
The honor of the gods
Has been invisible.
They practically have to
Guide our fingers as we write,
And with embarrassment the energy
Is torn from our hearts.
For every heavenly being
Expects an offering,
And when this is neglected,
Nothing good can come of it.
In our ignorance we've worshipped
Our Mother the Earth, and the Light
Of the Sun as well, but our Father
Who reigns over everything
Prefers that the enduring text
Be attended to, and that all
Of existence be interpreted well.
German song accords with this.

   Cf. Virgil, To return and view the cheerful skies,  Boethius, His mourning moved the depths of hell,  Goethe, Who yearns for the impossible I love,  Rilke, Ein Wehn im Gott,  Origen, Let our whole life be a life of prayer,   Gregory Theologian, God is a God of the present  Papacy

More by Hoelderlin

Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/greeks-us/hoelderlin-patmos.asp?pg=9