James Reidel
Ekphrastic Expressionist Poems by Franz Werfel
Auf alten Stationen
Auf den kleinen alten Stationen,
Die mein eigner Zug schon längst verlassen,
Ahn ich das Gedränge von Personen,
Die am Bahntrakt auf die Abfahrt passen.
Und ich möchte fast mich überheben
Über sie, die warten am Geleise,
Dass ich schon so weit auf meiner Reise
Vorgedrungen bin im Rüttel-Leben,
Dass ich kenne Brücken und Tunnelle,
Meer- und See- und Fels- und Stadtkulissen,
Dass mir gellen Aug und Ohr von Wissen,
Jenen unbekannt an ihrer Stelle,
Dass sie werden noch im Zeit-Zug sitzen,
Stumpf am Fenster schauend Funkenspiele
Und der tragischen Signale Blitzen,
Wenn ich ausgestiegen längst am Ziele.
Franz Werfel
At Old Railroad Stations
At these old whistle-stop stations,
Which my own train left long ago,
I fear for the people pushing, watching
For their departure on that stretch of track.
And I would almost love to preen
Above them waiting on the platform,
For I am already far into my journey,
Well along into this rattlebox life,
For I know the bridges and tunnels,
The sea-, lake-, rock-, and cityscapes,
My eyes and ears scream from knowing
To those unknowns in their seats,
For they will still sit down in the time train,
Bored by the window, watching the sparks fly
And the tragic flashes of the signals,
Long after I got off at the destination.
Franz Werfel translated by James Reidel, 2009
Am 7.2.2023 stelle ich Open AI eine Frage nach dem Zeitzug und erhalte diese Antwort:
OpenAI API: #Zeitzug is a German word that literally translates to “time train”. It is used to describe a period of rapid change or development, usually in a specific area or field. It is often used to refer to a period of rapid technological advancement, such as the Industrial Revolution or the Digital Revolution. It can also be used to refer to a period of rapid social or political change, such as the Civil Rights Movement or the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Photographie der Duse Die allzusehr geliebt hat, fröstelt viel.
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Photograph of Duse The one loved too much, shivers a great deal.
Note: title, Duse, i.e. Eleonora Duse (1858-1924), the Italian stage actress of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. |
Nächtliche Kahnfahrt und Erinnerung Tschibuktürke auf dem Ladenschild, Mit dem Nacht- und Wassergang im Bund Während Boot und Welle steigt und taucht, Und es spricht, der längst zerspalten ward: Ach, wie Wasser, drängend, sich nicht lässt, Kind, vernimm zu nächtlichem Geleit: Dieser Turban, der dich einst gerührt, Dich und ihn gibst du im Wechsel preis, Den zur Kinderstund dein Auge sah, Tschibukturke uberm Ladenschild,
Anmerkung: Über den Tabakverschleißen des alten Österreich hing oft ein Bild, das einen hockenden Türken darstellte, der die Wasserpfeife raucht. |
Night Row and Memory Pipe-smoking Turk upon the shop sign, With the night’s and water’s course in league, While the boat and the waves rise and fall, And then someone speaks long parted from: Oh, how water, surging, keeps on going, Child, hear out your nocturnal escort: This turban that so impressed you once, By turns you give it up and yourself, During children’s hour your eyes saw this, Pipe-smoking Turk over the shop sign,
Note: line 1, Pipe-smoking Turk (Tschibuktürke), according to Werfel’s own note, “signs that hung over tobacconists’ shops in the old Austrian empire often depicted a Turk with legs folded, smoking a water pipe”; line 17, children’s hour (Kinderstund), time set aside for taking children to the park, on walks, reading bible stories, and the like. |
Franz Werfel (tr. James Reidel)
Franz Werfel (1890–1945) is best known for his novels, such as The Forty Days of Musa Dagh and The Song of Bernadette. However, Werfel began his career as an Expressionist poet in the second decade of the twentieth century and continued to write and publish verse throughout his career. His poetry has enjoyed a revival interest in Europe, especially among younger literary scholars. |