Hermann Hesse hätte heute Geburtstag
am zweiten Juli
today was Hermann Hesse's birthday
Demian, Narcissus and Goldmund
and so many of his other words
filled my adolescence of magical nostalgia
his words, still crawl now & then
to my soul
i have never read this poem before
but it was the only one i found
translated in German and English
on this www
praying that the gods of literature
keep on sending us geniuses who
with words, are able to cure this
irremediable, intriguing and very
beautiful feeling that is this one'
of existence
ah! but the poem, right?
Wie sind die Tage...
Wie sind die Tage schwer!
An keinem Feuer kann ich erwarmen,
Keine Sonne lacht mir mehr,
Ist alles leer,
Ist alles kalt und ohne Erbarmen,
Und auch die lieben klaren
Sterne schauen mich trostlos an,
Seit ich im Herzen erfahren,
Dass Liebe sterben kann.
How heavy the days
How heavy the days are.
There's not a fire that can warm me,
Not a sun to laugh with me,
Everything bare,
Everything cold and merciless,
And even the beloved, clear
Starts look desolately down,
Since I learned in my heart that
Love can die.
Translated by James Wright
