Mihai Eminescu (Romanian National Poet, 1850-1889)

Vainly in those dusty classrooms... (În zădar în colbul şcolii...)

Vainly in those dusty classrooms

And throughout moth-eaten volumes
Do you strive to find life's beauty
And fulfill its inmost duty,
And in vain on greasy pages
Do you seek the gist of sages,
Nor with their contorted wording
Can you change the world's unfolding.
No amount of bookish learning
Has the answers to your yearning,
So live life until you pass,
All that suffering amass,
AND YOU'LL HEAR THE GROWING GRASS.
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Translation: Paul Abucean
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