We present this work in honor of the poet’s 205th birthday.

I saw the red sun’s serene light
troubled and at one point its brilliant face
disappeared and the sky darkened,
with a darkness full of horror.

The stormy South winds sound angry,
their anger grows, and the storm grows,
and the shoulders of Atlas shudder
high Olympus, with a dreadful thunderclap.

But then I saw the black veil
of rain part, and by the previous light
the brilliant and clear day was restored.

And again I looked upon the sky’s ornate splendor,
and I said “Who knows if I should expect an equal
change in my fortune?”