Mankind
Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)
Mankind
Face to face with the fire-abyss,
thundering hooves, the doomed brows of warriors,
across the blood-fog bootsteps echo, the iron death knells,
surrender, black in blue brains:
here Eve’s cloud, in pursuit, the passing over and bleeding coins.
Light breaks through the malignancy, his last meal.
A swelling silence dwells in bread and wine,
and the twelve are cleaved.
All night they wail in their dreams beneath the olive branches.
Saint Thomas plunges his hand into the heart of the wound.
Translated by Eric Plattner
…………………………………………………………………
Menschheit
Menschheit vor Feuerschlünden aufgestellt,
Ein Trommelwirbel, dunkler Krieger Stirnen,
Schritte durch Blutnebel; schwarzes Eisen schellt,
Verzweiflung, Nacht in traurigen Gehirnen:
Hier Evas Schatten, Jagd und rotes Geld.
Gewölk, das Licht durchbricht, das Abendmahl.
Es wohnt in Brot und Wein ein sanftes Schweigen
Und jene sind versammelt zwölf an Zahl.
Nachts schrein im Schlaf sie unter Ölbaumzweigen;
Sankt Thomas taucht die Hand ins Wundenmal.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 45 sec read
- 133 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXAXXBCDXD X DCDCDBCBCB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,056 |
Words | 153 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 1, 10 |
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"Mankind" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/14740/mankind>.
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