[arcis]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1827

Amerika, du hast es besser
als unser Kontinent, der alte,
hast keine verfallenen Schlösser
und keine Basalte.
Dich stört nicht im Innern
zu lebendiger Zeit
unnützes Erinnern
und vergeblicher Streit.

America, you've got it better
Than our old continent. Exult!
You have no decaying castles
And no basalt.
Your heart is not troubled,
In lively pursuits,
By useless old remembrance
And empty disputes.

America, you're better off
Than our continent that's old.
At tumbled-down castles you scoff,
You lack basalt, I'm told.
Within, nothing daunts you
In times rife with life,
No memory haunts you
Nor vain, idle strife.

[smashthestate]

I like it!

Well-written and thought provoking.

[Boondock Saint]

Though most certainly out of date.