FOREST POEMS

See how the woven down clings to the trees,

how the talkative waters

leap forth from the hollow stone!

original: "pumice." Pumice refers to porous volcanic rock, often used in poetry to describe the rough stones of a natural spring. Though many things at home invite me to stay, even as I refuse:

nevertheless my mind rushes ahead to the woods,

to the wide-meshed nets and the snares.

All my thoughts depart for the woods. When I sleep, the Fauns Fauns were Roman woodland deities, often associated with dreams and the wild sounds of the forest.

bring light to pleasant dreams:

and those places are always green.

Soon I seem to search the dens of wild beasts with my dogs.

I hear friendly voices:

the echo of the voice returns.

O fir tree, you who feed well on the mountain breeze:

O tree, parent of shadows,

having lowered your head

close to the stars: you who always rise high

with a flowering shield,

original: "umbone." An umbo is the central boss of a shield; here it describes the rounded, protective canopy of the tree.

and cover my weary limbs.

You soothe me with the green darkness of your branches,

and encircle my cap with foliage:

you are a welcome rest for me.

Am I mistaken, or is it a bristly boar? Do I see the tall antlers

of a stag matching the beech trees?

The smooth rocks ring out.

A beast has struck the bristling thickets, I hear it far off.

Servants, release the Laconian dogs

original: "Lacænas." Laconian or Spartan hounds were famous in antiquity for their speed and tracking ability.

and Nebrophonus from the yoke.

original: "Nebrophonem." A Greek name for a hunting dog meaning "Fawn-slayer." Such dreams play throughout the whole night;

Nature is not driven out.

A reference to Horace's famous line: "You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she will always return."

This life pleases me.

ANTITHESIS.

See how a hunting Circe Circe was the mythological sorceress who transformed the companions of Odysseus into animals. Here, Balde uses her as a metaphor for the way hunting can "dehumanize" a person. migrates into our morals.

She often makes the gentle wild:

And, having driven far away peaceful thoughts, she introduces wild ones,

and makes the character raw.

Respect for human blood ceases from the moment

animal blood is poured out.