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    AC Benus
  • AC Benus
  • Author
  • 06/03/2024
  • 220 Words
  • 177 Views
  • 6 Comments
Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Poetry - 111. mit Seele

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Nebenbei

 

Ich brauche immer so beiher –

Neben Arbeit und Vergnügen,

Neben Frauen, Deckelpfeifen und Deckelkrügen

Eine ewige Lampe, die, ich möchte sagen, hehr,

Wenn das Wort nicht so übel wär’ –

Glänzt, nie trübe wird, nie blendet,

Nie sich spart, sich nie verschwendet,

Nie verlischt, auch gegen Morgen nicht;

Immer ein gleiches Maß von mildem Licht

In mein ungleichmäßiges Leben sendet.

Drum lebe ich in dir als meiner Welt,

Und bin dir doch nicht vorgestellt.

Drum lieb’ ich dich nur mit Viertelkraft,

Die ich auch noch verhehle! –

Drum liebe ich andre mit Leidenschaft,

Aber dich mit Seele.

—Konrad Weichberger,

1902

 

     ----------------------------------

 

On the Side

 

I have to have you near to me –

For besides work and distractions,

For besides women, and covered pipes, and covered jugs –

You're an eternal lamp, which I'd like to call awesome,

If the word were not so awful,

One who shines, never dims or blinds,

Never holds back, or wastes himself,

Never flags, even towards morning;

But sheds an equal dose of clement light

Into my ever hectic, chaotic life.

That's why I live in you as if my world,

Even though you don't really know me.

Because I love with but a quarter-strength,

And even that's kept hidden.

With others, I love them with my passions;

With you, I love with soul.

 

_

as noted
  • Like 3
  • Love 1
Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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AC Benus
On 6/3/2024 at 3:33 PM, ReaderPaul said:

I am a bit puzzled by this one.  I know "pipes" is sometimes used for vocal cords, and "jugs" for breasts.  Is that the case here?

The last two lines are wonderful.

Thanks, ReaderPaul. To your question, honestly, I have no idea. Besides the broadly humorous sound of Deckelpfeifen und Deckelkrügen, I'm not sure either have any anatomical connotations in German. But in doing translation work I've learned that if a "thing" has a baudy undercurrent in English, it's probably the same in other languages.

Most of my effort with Deckelpfeifen and Deckelkrügen was spent making sure that pipe and jug were the best matches. The pipe was pretty clear, but Krügen can also stand for drinking vessels, like tankards. But google images (a very handy resource) shows the most "hits" for earthenware serving pieces with spouts and handles:  jugs :yes:

  • Love 2
AC Benus
On 6/4/2024 at 3:59 PM, Parker Owens said:

So much yearning and sorrow packed into sixteen lines. To love with but a quarter strength, yet to love with these words, makes me wonder how powerful his full love might have been. 

Thank you, Parker. Weichberger, at his best, brings this same level of emotional intensity to his vignette scene-painting verse. This poem in particular strikes me for the title. I almost felt like calling the translation "Side Piece", in the current understanding of that phrase, because that is what Konrad suggests with Nebenbei

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