Der Pflaumenbaum (The Plum Tree, translation)

Bertolt Brecht 1898 (Augsburg) – 1956 (East Berlin)



Im Hofe steht ein Pflaumenbaum,
Der ist so klein, man glaubt es kaum.
Er hat ein Gitter drum,
So tritt ihn keiner um.
Der Kleine kann nicht größer wer'n,
Ja - größer wer'n, das möcht' er gern!
's ist keine Red davon:
Er hat zu wenig Sonn'.

Dem Pflaumenbaum, man glaubt ihm kaum,
Weil er nie eine Pflaume hat.
Doch er ist ein Pflaumenbaum:
Man kennt es an dem Blatt.

----------------------------------- --------------------------------------

The Plum Tree

In the courtyard stands a plum tree,
It's so small, no one believes it.
It has a fence around it,
So no one can stomp on it.
The little tree can't grow,
Yes – it wants to grow!
No one talks about it;
It gets too little sun.

No one believes it's a plum tree
Because it doesn't have a single plum.
But it is a plum tree;
You can tell by its leaf.

------------------------------------ ----------------------------

The Plum Tree

A plum tree in the courtyard stands
so small no one believes it can.
There is a fence surrounds
so no one stomps it down.
The little tree can't grow
although it wants to so!
There is no talk thereon
and much too little sun.

No one believes in the tree
because no plums do they see.
But it's a plum tree;
you can tell by its leaf.  

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 19, 2023

1:09 min read
360

Quick analysis:

Scheme aaaabbbb acac D deeeFfeb dadG D xbxbFfbb dddG
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,199
Words 224
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 8, 4, 1, 8, 4, 1, 8, 4

Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, theatre director, and Marxist. more…

All Bertolt Brecht poems | Bertolt Brecht Books

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