The Ravens

Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)



The Ravens

Over the black crevice
at noon the ravens rush with rusty cries.
Their shadows touch the deer’s back
and at times they loom in gnarled rest.

O how they derange the brown stillness,
in the one acre itself entranced,
like a woman married to grave premonitions,
and at times you can hear them bicker

about a corpse they sniffed-out somewhere,
and sharply they bend their flight towards north
and dwindle away like a funeral
march in the air, shivering with bliss.

Translated by Eric Plattner & Joseph Suglia

……………………………………………………………………

D ie Raben

Über den schwarzen Winkel hasten
Am Mittag die Raben mit hartem Schrei.
Ihr Schatten streift an der Hirschkuh vorbei
Und manchmal sieht man sie mürrisch rasten.

O wie sie die braune Stille stören,
In der ein Acker sich verzückt,
Wie ein Weib, das schwere Ahnung berückt,
Und manchmal kann man sie keifen hören

Um ein Aas, das sie irgendwo wittern,
Und plötzlich richten nach Nord sie den Flug
Und schwinden wie ein Leichenzug
In Lüften, die von Wollust zittern.  

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

52 sec read
109

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXBC AXXD XXEX E F FDXF GCCG FBBF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,059
Words 175
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4

Georg Trakl

Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. more…

All Georg Trakl poems | Georg Trakl Books

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