Sunset Dream
I have seen the slow light falling–
Green in gold and gold on green–
When the sunset fell to sleeping,
Moments lagging half unseen
While the gold lay on the evening
Ere the gray had lost its gleam.
There I saw it for a moment:
Stood and watched the sunset’s dream.
Our tiniest dog, Cherry, is a delight, and here is a description of one of those quiet, in-between moments that make life beautiful.
A small dog
tips her nose up,
sniffs the stars.
Translation Project
This last poem is a translation project I set myself for a Pearls of Long Ago post.
I’ve long been intrigued with the very old German carol Maria Durch ein Dornwald Ging (Mary Through a Thorn-wood Goes), with its classic elements of traditional verse: the sense of legend, the repetition, and the very rough, rustic construction.
This last element gave me far more difficulty than I’d anticipated. Out of three stanzas, only one is actually rhymed; on the other hand, words and concepts are repeated with variations. Additionally, the lines are a rather scattered combination of syllabic lengths… but only until it is sung. When sung, all lines mysteriously become—presto—the same length, relying on the ingenuity of the singers to meld or lengthen syllables as necessary.
Well, the available English translations I’ve seen are neat and fit the old tune well if a little glibly. But I wanted to produce a translation that contained the rough edges and the more startling nature of the original lines.
This is a very long introduction to my attempt at translating this old carol. While I’m by no means confident in the result, I’ll say that it more or less meets the criteria I set for myself: it retains the actual metrical and rhyme structures of the original, with most of its simplicity of phrasing, and it can be sung to the old tune itself. I’m not at all sure that anyone else would share my priorities in this task; but whether or no, here is the result.
Maria Through a Thorn-Wood Goes
Maria through a thorn-wood goes
Kyrie eleison
Maria through a thorn-wood goes
In seven years no leaves the wood is bearing.
Jesus and Maria
What bears Maria under her heart lying?
Kyrie eleison
A little babe that’s known no crying
That bears Maria under her heart lying
Jesus and Maria
And now all the thorns their roses are bearing
Kyrie eleison
As the baby through the wood she’s bearing,
Ah, now all the thorns their roses are bearing
Jesus and Maria
—traditional German, my translation
(For a slow, soaring rendition of the original carol, here is VOCES8. For a delightful, lighter version, here is the Freiburger Spielleyt.)
loved hearing the VOCES8 version. Where and when did you learn German?