a Glass Floor Underfoot - 22. where the night’s light is cloaked

Here again, you give us Jentzsch’s vivid images in a marvelous translation. “Broad shouldered winds” and “dense and hoary” storm clouds were especially arresting. Thank you! 

7 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

Here again, you give us Jentzsch’s vivid images in a marvelous translation. “Broad shouldered winds” and “dense and hoary” storm clouds were especially arresting. Thank you! 

Thanks for reading and commenting, Parker. I appreciate it. Expressionistic poetry is all about using big, dreamlike images in a stream of conscious flow. 

Thanks again ❤️ 

Like Parker Owens I loved this poem and its vivid images.  I also decided to translate "Mister John Höxter bestowed" .  That led me to look up Jentzsch (from Parker's comment) and John Höxter.  The information was very interesting, and I was surprised that the Jentzsch information led back to you and The Thousandth Regiment. You impress me the more you write!  

12 hours ago, raven1 said:

Like Parker Owens I loved this poem and its vivid images.  I also decided to translate "Mister John Höxter bestowed" .  That led me to look up Jentzsch (from Parker's comment) and John Höxter.  The information was very interesting, and I was surprised that the Jentzsch information led back to you and The Thousandth Regiment. You impress me the more you write!  

Thanks for your feedback, Terry! It's nice to know I'm "out there" somewhere

John Höxter strikes an interesting, ranconteur, figure in the Bohemian cafe society of Berlin before the start of WW1. I have a poem by him in my email drafts that I should get to translating.

Thanks again!    

@Parker Owens@raven1

Here is my first translation of a John Höxter poem. It's from 1916, which was a pretty bleak year, considering how WW1 was dragging on.

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Hoxter’s poem is bleak indeed, piling one grey and dreary image upon another. The image of soot flecked snow being compared to ermine was arresting. 

4 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

Hoxter’s poem is bleak indeed, piling one grey and dreary image upon another. The image of soot flecked snow being compared to ermine was arresting. 

I agree! And the original has the beggar term in the same line, just like in the translation. The final image took my breath away. The scythe/bends in the river to cut the images of flowers on paper

I agree with Parker's comment.  Hoxter did paint a bleak portrait of winter in the city.  As an American growing up in the 50's and 60's, I was never exposed to the works of any non-English writers, except for a few Haiku poems.  Thanks for introducing me to Hoxter.

32 minutes ago, raven1 said:

I agree with Parker's comment.  Hoxter did paint a bleak portrait of winter in the city.  As an American growing up in the 50's and 60's, I was never exposed to the works of any non-English writers, except for a few Haiku poems.  Thanks for introducing me to Hoxter.

Thanks, Terry. Your earlier mentioning of Höxter made me focus on the Berlin Winter poem that's been in my email drafts for a little while. I'm happy I spent the time focusing on it, as it has some engaging images and turns of phrase in it. And I love to learn!

Thanks again!