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    AC Benus
  • AC Benus
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  • 01/30/2024
  • 235 Words
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  • 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 Ultimate Vehicle of Earthly Bliss - 2. Miracles awaken

.

In der Nacht

 

Oft nächtens greisst du meine Hand

Wie Leben sich an Leben drängt,

Das fühlt: dir bin ich ganz verbunden.

Laß los! Ich kann nicht mehr gesunden:

Zwischen uns liegt eine Welt.

 

Zwischen uns liegt fremde Liebe;

Zwischen uns liegt Einsamkeit.

Zwischen uns mar das Wunder erwacht,

Das hast du um sein Erblühn gebracht –

Nun wächst nur mehr das Leid.

 

Ich will nicht, daß es mich zebricht!

Laß meine Hand los!

Denn ich muß aufstehn,

Muß wieder ins Fremde gehn,

Meine Wünsche werden zu groß –

–     –     –     –

Laß mich das Wunder suchen gehn. [i]

 

 ---------------------------------

 

 

Through the Night

 

Often at night, you grasp my hand

So that life may press against life,

Feeling: fully connected are we.

But let loose! So I have recovery:

So the world lies between us.

 

The love thought queer lies between;

The notions of rift lie between us.

While between us miracles wake free,

Where allusion’s blossoms were robbed me –

So all is but sorrow now.

 

I will not let it rupture us!

So let loose my hand.

I must rise, you see;

Walk abroad in liberty.

My desire’s too engrossing –

–     –     –     –

Let loose this miracle’s liberty.

 

 

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[i] “In der Nacht” Toni Schwabe, Ibid., p. 62

https://archive.org/details/3476447/page/62/mode/2up

 

_

Copyright © 2024 AC Benus; All Rights Reserved.
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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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ReaderPaul

What a thoughtful poem!  Sometimes we must continue even when life seems to throw difficulties in our path.  Life can be easier when shared.

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AC Benus

AC Benus 36,203

Posted (edited)

18 minutes ago, ReaderPaul said:

What a thoughtful poem!  Sometimes we must continue even when life seems to throw difficulties in our path.  Life can be easier when shared.

Thank you, ReaderPaul. This is quite a unique coming out poem; one pitting inner happiness against outward (societal) pressures to be isolated and "healthy" instead. Although she did not publish many unhappy poems, the German biographies about Toni Schwabe one encounters online insist she was miserable because of her orientation (a common trope repeated ad nauseam by our detractors), while in actuality, the majority of her verse celebrate same-sex love. Because of this fact, the dismissal she voices in the poem above may be intended as completely ironic. A satirical thumb-in-the-face of those who would tell her (and all of us) to accept the closet, or else 

Edited by AC Benus
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Parker Owens

I really liked the last line:

Let loose this miracle’s liberty.

 it really speaks to my heart and feelings today. 

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AC Benus
On 1/30/2024 at 9:53 AM, chris191070 said:

Beautiful 

Thank you, Chris. I feel Schawbe's work is quite beautiful; sometimes rhymed and lyric, and at others stark and bare. But her way of expression feelings always seem to have certain bearing which exalts balance, even in misery  

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AC Benus

AC Benus 36,203

Posted (edited)

On 1/30/2024 at 2:20 PM, Parker Owens said:

I really liked the last line:

Let loose this miracle’s liberty.

 it really speaks to my heart and feelings today. 

Thank you, Parker. This is, I believe, quite a complex poem. This kid is the most challenging to translate, as I never want to "straitjacket" something that may be intended to stay fluid, and change upon multiple readings 

Edited by AC Benus
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