Hermann Hesse Translation of 'Stages' from 'The Glass Bead Game'

This is my modern English translation of the poem "Stages" by the great German poet Hermann Hesse from his novel "The Glass Bead Game." "Stages" or "Steps" by Hermann Hesse from his novel The Glass Bead Game translation by Michael R. Burch As every flower wilts and every youth must wilt and exit life from a curtained stage, so every virtue—even our truest truth— blooms some brief time and cannot last forever. Since life may summons death at any age we must prepare for death’s obscene endeavor, meet our end with courage and without remorse, forego regret and hopes of some reprieve, embrace death’s end, as life’s required divorce, some new beginning, calling us to live. Thus let us move, serene, beyond our fear, and let no sentiments detain us here. The Universal Spirit would not chain us, but elevates us slowly, stage by stage. If we demand a halt, our fears restrain us, caught in the webs of creaturely defense. We must prepare for imminent departure or else be bound by foolish “permanence.” Death’s hour may be our swift deliverance, from which we speed to fresher, newer spaces, and Life may summons us to bolder races. So be it, heart! Farewell, and adieu, then! On a Journey to Rest by Hermann Hesse translation by Michael R. Burch Don't be downcast, the night is soon over; then we can watch the pale moon hover over the dawning land as we rest, hand in hand, laughing secretly to ourselves. Don't be downcast, the time will soon come when we, too, can rest (our small crosses will stand, blessed, on the edge of the road together; the rain, then the snow will fall, and the winds come and go) heedless of the weather. How Heavy the Days by Hermann Hesse translation by Michael R. Burch How heavy the days. Not a fire can warm me, Nor a sun brighten me! Everything barren, Everything bare, Everything utterly cold and merciless! Now even the once-beloved stars Look distantly down, Since my heart learned Love can die. Across The Fields by Hermann Hesse translation by Michael R. Burch Across the sky, the clouds sweep, Across the fields, the wind blunders, Across the fields, the lost child Of my mother wanders. Across the street, the leaves sweep, Across the trees, the starlings cry; Across the distant mountains, My home must lie. Keywords/Tags: Hermann Hesse, translation, German, English, life, death, stage, stages, truth, flower, wilt, youth, flower, blooms, time, age, courage, hope, hopes, fear, spirit, god, space, spaces, heart, farewell