Evening Song
Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)
Evening Song
At evening, when we walk on dark trails,
our bleached selves appear before us.
Thirsty
we drink from the pond’s white water,
the sweetness of our mournful childhood.
Weary, we rest beneath the elderberry
to behold the dawning gulls.
Spring clouds rise above the town’s dark thoughts—
mute, the monks’ nobler days.
As I took your tiny hands
your round eyes gently broke upon me.
This was long ago.
And yet, when darker songs descend upon the soul,
you appear—a whiteness—in your friend’s autumn landscape.
Translated by Eric Plattner
…………………………………………………………………
Abendlied
Am Abend, wenn wir auf dunklen Pfaden gehn,
Erscheinen unsere bleichen Gestalten vor uns.
Wenn uns dürstet,
Trinken wir die weißen Wasser des Teichs,
Die Süße unserer traurigen Kindheit.
Erstorbene ruhen wir unterm Hollundergebüsch,
Schaun den grauen Möven zu.
Frühlingsgewölke steigen über die finstere Stadt,
Die der Mönche edlere Zeiten schweigt.
Da ich deine schmalen Hände nahm
Schlugst du leise die runden Augen auf,
Dieses ist lange her.
Doch wenn dunkler Wohllaut die Seele heimsucht,
Erscheinst du Weiße in des Freundes herbstlicher Landschaft.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 124 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AX BCX CX XX XBX XX C XA BAB XA XB XXC BB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,190 |
Words | 178 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2 |
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"Evening Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/14713/evening-song>.
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