Friedrich Hölderlin :

Hälfte des Lebens

Mit gelben Birnen h�nget
Und voll mit wilden Rosen 
Das Land in den See,
Ihr holden Schw�ne,
Und trunken von K�ssen
Tunkt ihr das Haupt
Ins heilign�chterne Wasser.

Weh mir, wo nehm ich, wenn 
Es Winter ist, die Blumen,
und wo 
Den Sonnenschein,
Und Schatten der Erde?
Die Mauern stehn 
Sprachlos und kalt, im Winde
Klirren die Fahnen.

.

Friedrich Hölderlin:

Midlife

With yellow pears hangs,
and full with wild roses
the land in the lake,
Ye gracious Swans - 
and drunken from kisses
dip ye the head
in the solemn-soberly water.

Woe me: whence do I fetch, when
it's winter, the flowers,
and whence
the sunshine
and shade of the earth?
The walls stand 
speechless and cold; in the wind
are clanking the banners.

This sounds awfully like a literal translation, you say, with teutonic prepositions and all? Well, it does, though it isn't. But, then, even the Germans don't understand Hölderlin. Truth to tell, even Hölderlin didn't always understand Hölderlin...

What does it all mean? Damned if I know. But it gets me, see? It got you, too, didn't it? (Or you wouldn't have asked...)

How did I dare to translate without knowing what it all meant? Oh, boy! Never watched politicians, did you?

(Sorry, I couldn't resist the quip. Let's just say, there is a knowledge of the head, and there is a knowledge of the heart, and there is a knowledge of the gastrointestinal tract, particularly guts and stomach - and that's where you are supposed to feel those poetic butterflies...)

That's too much? You want a second opinion from a real expert? Please,serve yourself...