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A slim volume of Hesse's poems (31 poems to be exact), selected and translated by the poet James Wright.

The 31 poems are "I Know, You Walk", "Across the Field", "Elizabeth", "Ravenna (1)", "Ravenna (2)", "Lonesome Night", "A Swarm of Gnats", "The Poet", "Mountains at Night", "At Night on the High Seas", "To a Chinese Girl Singing", "Departure from the Jungle", "Evil Time", "On a Journey", "Night", "Destiny", "Ode to Hölderlin", "Childhood", "Lying in Grass", "How Heavy the Days...", "In a Collection of Egyptian Sculpture", "Without You", "The First Flowers", "Spring Day", "Holiday Music in the Evening", "Thinking of a Friend at Night", "Autumn Day", "To Children", "Flowers, Too", "Uneasiness in the Night", and "All Deaths".

Hesse's Wanderings are well documented. The theme is frequently explored by Hesse in his fiction and poetry...

At night, when the sea cradles me
And the pale star gleam
Lies down on its broad waves,
Then I free myself wholly
From all activity and all the love
And stand silent and breathe purely,
Alone, alone cradled by the sea
That lies there, cold and silent, with a thousand lights.
Then I have to think of my friends
And my gaze sinks into their gazes
And I ask each one, silent, alone:
"Are you still mine?
Is my sorrow a sorrow to you, my death a death?
Do you feel from my love, my grief,
Just a breath, just an echo?"

And the sea peacefully gazes back, silent,
And smiles: no.
And no greeting and no answer comes from any where.
- At Night on the High Seas (pg. 23)

There is a poem dedicated to the memory of Knulp. I can't find any information to provide a basis for Knulp, whether he was a friend of Hesse's or a historical figures. What I do know is that Knulp also formed the basis of Hesse's novel of the same name...

Don't be downcast, soon the night will come,
When we can see the cool moon laughing in secret
Over the faint countryside,
And we rest, hand in hand.

Don't be downcast, the time will soon come
When we can have rest. Our small crosses will stand
On the bright edge of the road together,
And rain fall, and snow fall,
And the winds come and go.
- On a Journey in memory of Knulp (pg. 31)

Many of the poems limit themselves to basic descriptions of nature. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, many readers prefer this kind of poetry. I'm not one of these readers. In spite of my bias, I found the nature poems to be agreeable...

Across the sky, the clouds move,
Across the fields, the wind,
Across the fields the lost child
Of my mother wanders.

Across the street, leaves blow,
Across the trees, birds cry -
Across the mountains, far away,
My home must be.
- Across the Field . . . (pg. 5)

The lake has died down,
The reed, black in its sleep,
Whispers in a dream.
Expanding immensely into the countryside,
The mountains loom, outspread.
They are not resting.
They breathe deeply, and hold themselves,
Pressed tightly, to one another.
Deeply breathing,
Laden with mute forces,
Caught in a wasting passion.
- Mountains at Night (pg. 21)

Beside the brook
Toward the willows,
During these days
So many yellow flowers have opened
Their eyes into gold.
I have long since lost my innocence, yet a memory
Touches my depth, the golden hours of morning, and gazes
Brilliantly upon me out of the eyes of flowers.
I was going too pick flowers;
Now I leave them all standing
And walk home, an old man.
- The First Flowers (pg. 51)

My favourite poem in the collection...

I should tell you a story,
The night is already so late -
Do you want to torment me,
Lovely Elizabeth?

I write poems about that,
Just as you do;
And the entire history of my love
Is you and this evening.

You mustn't be troublesome,
And blow these poems away.
Soon you will listen to them,
Listen, and not understand.
- Elizabeth (pg. 7)