In Wirklichkeit war ich schon wach, aber ich hielt noch die Augen zu, um die Traaumgestalten noch länger vor meiner Seele zu behalten.

Belles lettres
Chamisso's earliest writings which include a verse translation of the tragedy Le Compte de Comminge in which "heilsam" is used in place of "heilig" show a 20 year old still struggling to master his new language and a number of his early poems are in French. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Cham. It was written partly to divert his own thoughts and partly to amuse the children of his friend Julius Eduard Hitzig.