Outside this house the world has changed
Life is swifter than before
There is no time for idle gestures
I cannot offer you eternal love
For we have learned today such words are lies

But the brief pleasure of passion
Yes, and sweet, long friendship
Who can resist your gentle beauty, Erika?
Oh, how happy we could be together!
Do you know Paris and Rome, Budapest and Vienna?
The velvet rooms for jeweled suppers
The coast of Spain for solitude
The gilded Grand Hotels for dancing
The glass and marble stations for goodbyes?
This we could share together
If you accept my love
And, who knows
My love might last forever, Erika
Life is so brief