Legacy
For Marianne von Willemer
love
memory
ode
gentle
intimate
To the eyes of my Beloved, To her fingers that prepared them – Once with such a burning longing So awaited, and received, then – To the heart from which they flowed, Shall these letters once more go, Ready ever to recall, The most perfect time of all.
Legacy - context Summary
Part of Goethe's Correspondence
This short lyric arises from Goethe’s intimate exchange with Marianne von Willemer and appears in West-östlicher Divan. Addressed to the beloved and the hands that received his letters, it frames correspondence as a vessel of longing and memory. The speaker imagines letters preserved to recall a singular, perfect moment, turning private emotional exchange into a deliberate, lasting legacy between writer and addressee.
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