The Thousandth Regiment - 14. "Night moves above, in the zone of respite"

Again this is a brilliant translation. The picture of the wound in the concept of time is really impressive and very well translated. It leads to a lot of thoughts for me. And again Hans uses strong contrasts in his images to make the reader feels unease while reading, smelling hay in this moment with the prospect of smelling the horror of coppery scent of blood soon.

Thanks for your work

Such rich images to describe the grinding emotional scarring of war. The soldier is turned into a trained and servile dog of war. With Hans we see the flaming horizon; the chaff of steel stars sow death. Yet these contrast brilliantly with scents of hay and the fresh dew, where innocence may conceal carnage in waiting. 

You have conveyed all this magnificently. 

On 8/29/2019 at 1:13 PM, Lyssa said:

Again this is a brilliant translation. The picture of the wound in the concept of time is really impressive and very well translated. It leads to a lot of thoughts for me. And again Hans uses strong contrasts in his images to make the reader feels unease while reading, smelling hay in this moment with the prospect of smelling the horror of coppery scent of blood soon.

Thanks for your work

Thank you, Lyssa. Concerning the open wound through time, there are moments in these poems where Hans seems an exquisite visionary. He builds upon the idea the result of this war will be a different Europe, with the "empires" engaged in it (willingly, as the only two parties with any standing in the conflict were Austria and Serbia) falling away to the past. This is extraordinary to discover, and makes moments like Das in die Zeit wie eine Wunde klafft utterly breathtaking. For he and his fellow fighters it gave a form of comfort which comes through in many brilliant facets. He was a remarkable poet. 

Thank you again for reading and sharing your thoughts

On 8/29/2019 at 5:01 PM, Parker Owens said:

Such rich images to describe the grinding emotional scarring of war. The soldier is turned into a trained and servile dog of war. With Hans we see the flaming horizon; the chaff of steel stars sow death. Yet these contrast brilliantly with scents of hay and the fresh dew, where innocence may conceal carnage in waiting. 

You have conveyed all this magnificently. 

Thank you, Parker. Rich images is right! The line Aus runden Bläuen fällt der Sterne Spreu ( "From circles fall chaff like steel stars' bluing") had me at an utter loss at first. It's only when I got wise and google-image searched Bläuen that I saw the word also means the bluing applied to steel. What an ah-ha moment, for then the imagery became subtle and beautiful...shooting stars, I suppose, streaking some blue of the sky in their tails.

The way he constructs Expressionist analogies puts me in mind of Hart Crane. This was the new poetry of the start of the 20th century, and it went on to change the game completely. Still, Hans, right at the beginning, excelled as few others ever have. 

Thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts  

This tells us about men who have been through the unthinkable, seen horrors few can imagine.  He describes the rape of the earth and it's beauty. 

Amazing work, AC. 

On 9/10/2019 at 6:11 PM, MichaelS36 said:

This tells us about men who have been through the unthinkable, seen horrors few can imagine.  He describes the rape of the earth and it's beauty. 

Amazing work, AC. 

Thank you, Mike. For me the outward serenity contrasted against inner turmoil sings out in this poem. I'm sure all people in uniform can relates to these experiences. But for me the prophetic way the poem ends is really striking. Hans knew the conflict would not have a "clean" end, no matter the circumstances. He muses on the long-lasting consequences in several of these war poems.

Thanks again, as always, for reading and sharing your thoughts