Poetry Day - The Night of the Moon
Since there's been a little German around here lately, I thought I'd actually post a German poem today. It was originally sent to me by a German fellow I met in Sweden (there's a very short story associated with that), then my German room-mate tried to teach me to say it properly. This poem has been set to music by both Brahms and Schumann, and a good many others, so I'm guessing it's considered quite beautiful in the original language. I've posted a couple of English translations below, which highlight perhaps how difficult it is to translate poetry. (Further, a kind internet roamer by the name of David recently provided a very nice translation of Rilke's poem in this post, which also set me off after German verse.)
Mondnacht
Es war, als hätt' der Himmel,
Die Erde still geküßt,
Daß sie im Blütenschimmer
Von ihm nur träumen müßt.
Die Luft ging durch die Felder
Die Ähren wogten sacht,
Es rauschten leis die Wälder,
So sternklar war die Nacht.
Und meine Seele spannte
Weit ihre Flügel aus,
Flog durch die stillen Lande,
Als flöge sie nach Haus.
- Josef van Eichendorff
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Moon-night
It was as if the sky
Had quietly kissed the earth,
So that in a shower of blossoms
She must now dream of him.
The breeze wafted through the fields,
The ears of corn waved gently,
The forests rustled faintly,
So sparkling clear was the night.
And my soul stretched
its wings out far,
Flew through the still lands,
as if it were flying home.
English translation by Emily Ezust.
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Night of the Moon
It was as though the sky
had silently kissed the earth,
so that it now had to dream of sky
in shimmers of flowers.
The air went through the fields,
the corn-ears leaned heavy down
the woods swished softly—
so clear with stars was the night
And my soul stretched
its wings out wide,
flew through the silent lands
as though it were flying home.
From here.
Image from transtrazendo.blogspot.com