I |
Ich sah mich durch verlass'ne Zimmer gehn. - Die Sterne tanzten irr auf blauem Grunde, Und auf den Feldern heulten laut die Hunde, Und in den Wipfeln wühlte wild der Föhn. Doch plötzlich: Stille! Dumpfe Fieberglut Läßt giftige Blumen blühn aus meinem Munde, Aus dem Geäst fällt wie aus einer Wunde Blaß schimmernd Tau, und fällt, und fällt wie Blut. Aus eines Spiegels trügerischer Leere Hebt langsam sich, und wie ins Ungefähre Aus Graun und Finsternis ein Antlitz: Kain! Sehr leise rauscht die samtene Portiere, Durchs Fenster schaut der Mond gleichwie ins Leere, Da bin mit meinem Mörder ich allein. |
I saw myself go through abandoned rooms. - The stars danced crazily on blue ground, And on the fields the dogs howled loud, And in the treetops the foehn rummaged wildly. But suddenly: stillness! Stuffy fever glow Lets poisonous flowers bloom from my mouth, From the branches like from a wound Pale gleaming dew falls, and falls, and falls like blood. From a mirror's deceitful emptiness A countenance slowly lifts in the vagueness Out of horror and darkness: Cain! Very quietly the velvet curtains rustle, Through the window the moon looks as if into emptiness, There I am alone with my murderer. |
II |
Ma jeunesse ne fut qu'un ténébreux orage, Traversé çà et là par de brillants soleils; Le tonnerre et la pluie ont fait un tel ravage, Qu'il reste en mon jardin bien peu de fruits vermeils. Voilà que j'ai touché l'automne des idées, Et qu'il faut employer la pelle et les râteaux Pour rassembler à neuf les terres inondées, Où l'eau creuse des trous grands comme des tombeaux. Et qui sait si les fleurs nouvelles que je rêve Trouveront dans ce sol lavé comme une grève Le mystique aliment qui ferait leur vigueur? — Ô douleur! Ô douleur! Le Temps mange la vie, Et l'obscur Ennemi qui nous ronge le coeur Du sang que nous perdons croît et se fortifie! |
My youth has been nothing but a tenebrous storm, Pierced now and then by rays of brilliant sunshine; Thunder and rain have wrought so much havoc That very few ripe fruits remain in my garden. I have already reached the autumn of the mind, And I must set to work with the spade and the rake To gather back the inundated soil In which the rain digs holes as big as graves. And who knows whether the new flowers I dream of Will find in this earth washed bare like the strand, The mystic aliment that would give them vigor? Alas! Alas! Time eats away our lives, And the hidden Enemy who gnaws at our hearts Grows by drawing strength from the blood we lose! (Transl.: William Aggeler) |
III |
There are some qualities— some incorporate things, That have a double life, which thus is made A type of that twin entity which springs From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade. There is a two-fold Silence— sea and shore— Body and soul. One dwells in lonely places, Newly with grass o'ergrown; some solemn graces, Some human memories and tearful lore, Render him terrorless: his name's "No More." He is the corporate Silence: dread him not! No power hath he of evil in himself; But should some urgent fate (untimely lot!) Bring thee to meet his shadow (nameless elf, That haunteth the lone regions where hath trod No foot of man,) commend thyself to God! |