Early Works of Karl Marx

To My Grandfather

Source: MECW Volume 2, p. 553
First published: F. Engels, Schriften der Frühzeit, Berlin, 1920;
Transcribed: Andy Blunden;

Barmen, December 20, 1833

O you dear Grandfather, who always treat us so kindly,
Always helping us when our work isn’t going so smoothly,
While you were here, you told me many a beautiful story
Of Cercyon and Theseus, and Argus the hundred-eyed monster,
The Minotaur, Ariadne, and Aegeus drowned in the ocean,
The Golden Fleece, the Argonauts and Jason defiant ^[247]
Mighty Hercules, Danaus, and Cadmus the hero,
And — I can’t remember all of the things that you told me;
Well, I wish you, Grandfather, a Happy New Year and a gay one,
Long, long years to come, with plenty of joy and no worries,
Everything good in life that can possibly happen to people,
All this is wished for you by your loving, affectionate grandson.

Friedr. Engels