Wagner's Letters

Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck

Undated · Zurich

Overview

A short poem in which Wagner envies the swallow that builds its own nest, lamenting that he, seeking quiet for creation, cannot build his house of rest, and asking who will build that nest for him.

Letter

O happy swallow, wouldst be mating,
Thyself thou build'st thy brood a nest;
In quest of quiet for creating,
I cannot build my house of rest!
The peaceful home of stone and pine —
What swallow'll build that nest of mine?

Source: Richard Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck, trans. William Ashton Ellis (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905), No. 25

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