Abends / At night

Abends

(Hermann Hesse)

 

Abends gehn die Liebespaare

Langsam durch das Feld,

Frauen lösen ihre Haare,

Händler zählen Geld,

Bürgen lesen bang das Neuste

In dem Abendblatt,

Kinder ballen kleine Fäuste,

Schlafen tief und satt.

Jeder tut das einzig Wahre,

Folgt erhabner Pflicht,

Säugling, Bürger, Liebespaare –

Und ich selber nicht?

 

Doch! Auch meiner Abendtaten,

Deren Sklav’ ich bin,

Kann der Weltgeist nicht entraten,

Sie auch haben Sinn.

 

Und so geh ich auf und nieder,

Tanze innerlich,

Summe dumme Gassenlieder,

Lobe Gott und mich,

Trinke Wein und phantasiere,

Daß ich Pascha wär,

Fühle Sorgen an der Niere,

Lächle, trinke mehr,

Sage ja zu meinem Herzen

(Morgens geht es nicht),

Spinne aus vergangenen Schmerzen

Spielend ein Gedicht,

Sehe Mond und Sterne kreisen,

Ahne ihren Sinn,

Fühle mich mit ihnen reisen

Einerlei wohin.

 

 

Translation (by me)

 

At night

(Hermann Hesse)

 

At night couples go for a walk,

strolling slowly through the fields,

Women dissolve their hair,

Traders count their cash,

Citizens anxiously read the news

In the evening paper,

Infants clench their tiny fists,

Sleeping soundly, being full.

Everyone does the only true,

Follows sublime obligations,

Infant, citizens, couples –

And not myself?

 

Yes, of course! Even my nights’ deeds,

To which I’m slave,

The world can’t be without them,

They, too, make sense.

 

And thus I’m going to and fro,

Dancing inside,

Humming silly songs,

Praising God and myself,

Drinking wine and having visions

That I would be pasha,

My kidneys causing worries,

I’m smiling, drinking more,

Saying yes to my heart

(in the mornings I can’t),

Weaving from long-gone sorrows

A poem easily,

Seeing moon and stars swirl,

Sensing their meaning,

Feeling myself travel with them,

No matter where.

 

 

(I tried to find a translation on the net, but couldn't find one. I'm sorry, but I wasn't able to transport the rhyme into the translation. If anyone knows of a better translation, I'd appreciate, if you told me, so that I could put it here instead of my feeble attempt.)

 

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This picture was taken by my brother during his vacation with my mum and uncle and aunt in the region of Kaiserstuhl (SW Germany). Don't ask me, where exactly this was taken. The only thing I know is that this is on a model railway installation.

Done