White smoke pervades the dark

And cool damp the limbs

Gravity cloaks the light

Shadows burn before you

A silent sough imbues the night

The monotone sound of time

Sings an elegy of emptiness

And all strength withers

In desire, where it falls

And the swallows drown in bleakness

The moss-covered firmament

Takes the warmth from the world

But the silence burns warmly

– and the wind moans gelidly

The monotone sound of time

Sings an elegy of emptiness

And all strength withers

In desire, where it falls

Everyone feels it

In Asthenia

The compassion – that burns so bright

The confidence – that sinks in light

(And the swallows drown in bleakness)

But healing, though, is not in sight