Friedrich and his brother August Wilhelm were the focus of a group in Jena now known as the Frühromantiker (“Early Romantics”). Better known for his theorizing about Romantic versus Classical literature, Friedrich also wrote poetry. “The Thicket,” which is about a sound, is unusual in its sound effects. The final words of the even-numbered lines in the German original are semi-rhymes or assonances on the diphthong au (like the “ou” in “sound”) as if it were the “one soft sound” that permeates every sound. I was unable to find English equivalents, except for “sound” itself, so I settled on the long “ee” sound.