Hence the one-sided errors—ces erreurs d'idée fixe—which we cannot escape when we stand too near to one or the other party; either deceives, yet does… - Heinrich Heine

First poems! They must be written on casual scraps of faded paper, interspersed here and there with withered flowers, or a lock of blond hair, or a discolored piece of ribbon, and the trace of a tear must still be visible in several places ... But first poems that are printed, in livid black and white, on dreadfully smooth paper are poems that have lost the finest points of their sweet, virginal charm, and now arouse a ghastly feeling of distaste in the author.

One must, it is true, forgive one's enemies — but not before they have been hanged.

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,
Als alle Vögel sangen,
Da ist meinem Herzen
Die Liebe aufgegangen.

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,
Als alle Knospen sprangen,
Da hab' ich ihr gestanden
Mein Sehnen und Verlangen.

Translation:

In the beautiful month of May,
as all the birds were singing,
love started to blossom
inside of my heart.

In the beautiful month of May,
as all the buds were blossoming,
I confessed to her
my yearning and longing.