II. Chorale Fantasia
From deep despair I cry to you
Lord God, you hear me crying.
Your gracious ear can surely hear,
Your grace can ease my sighing.
No matter what, I know you see
All sin and guilty that harries me,
For no one can outstay you.
From deep despair I call again:
Give ear to me and heal my pain.
My only hope is lodged in you-
Please take my hand and lead me through;
And if I die before you take me back
You must forgive the things I lack.
In this vale of tears
Show me how to rule my fears.
My sins have weighed me down so long
But only this defeat can make me strong. |
III. Recitative and Aria
A Block of Ice
I stamp my foot and a black wave races across the field,
I close my eyes and white stones spring up that I must avoid,
My hand in the freezing water gropes for but
fails to find a block of ice.
On which to sign my name and the date and hour
of my death.
In a New Apartment
I open the curtains
And go back to bed.
Lying there I can see
The tower of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
Massive, undecorated,
Not at all beautiful,
Nor indeed magnificent,
Not even in an unconventional way.
But, already,
A dark beacon
In the darker night
For my sleepless thoughts,
The fears that gather
As if outside the body
(and as if on wings)
To consecrate my rest. |
