Light & Dragonflies: Nature Poems/Love Poems - 4. Gondola songs through rushes

Interesting images evoked in this.  Thank you, @AC Benus.

On 8/21/2023 at 3:25 PM, ReaderPaul said:

Interesting images evoked in this.  Thank you, @AC Benus.

Thanks for reading, ReaderPaul. I have to say I'm pretty fond of this one

How can I not be captivated by this poem?
 

Oftentimes life may rise adrift upon the high pine forests

where moss-drenched spruces weigh out

their forms

as flick’ring silver chains of sweet

flowing

light

This image alone is a gem, and reminds me of early June mornings at my grandmother’s home. Already, my heart is singing. 

Both the poem and the picture are beautiful images of nature.  Thanks, AC!

14 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

How can I not be captivated by this poem?
 

 

Oftentimes life may rise adrift upon the high pine forests

where moss-drenched spruces weigh out

their forms

as flick’ring silver chains of sweet

flowing

light

This image alone is a gem, and reminds me of early June mornings at my grandmother’s home. Already, my heart is singing. 

Thank you, Parker. This poem is somewhat unique in Runge's work for being entirely about a personal experience in nature. Usually the poet skillfully weaves a tapestry of personal passions for an individual with ravishing landscapes. Here, very unusually for Expressionist poetry, he starts with a rhetorical statement:

Worte sind nicht immer blinde Bettler

an den Türen unsrer Sehnsucht

(Our words are not always such blind beggars

hard upon our door of longing)

He then proceeds to paint the most non-beggarly portrait of a summer landscape imaginable. It's no wonder Tom Riebe, modern scholar and publisher, has declared Wilhelm Runge the greatest lyric poet of his generation. It's a hard to argue against such an understanding with a poem like the above evidencing Runge's achievements  

10 hours ago, raven1 said:

Both the poem and the picture are beautiful images of nature.  Thanks, AC!

Thank you, Terry! It's been a wonderful experience to encounter and work through translations for Runge's extraordinary verse. There are many more sensual poems to come in this collection.

Thanks again