Some nights | When the fields darken

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by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Manche Nacht

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG FRE

Wenn die Felder sich verdunkeln,
fühl' ich wird mein Auge heller;
schon versucht ein Stern zu funkeln,
und die Grillen wispern schneller.

Jeder Laut wird bilderreicher,
das Gewohnte sonderbarer,
hinterm Wald der Himmel bleicher,
jeder Wipfel hebt sich klarer;

Und du merkst es nicht im Schreiten
wie das Licht verhundertfältigt
sich entringt den Dunkelheiten.
Plötzlich stehst du überwältigt.

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Text Authorship:

by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Manche Nacht" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 59

Some nights

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Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

When the fields darken,
I feel that my eyes grow brighter;
Already a star is attempting to sparkle,
And the crickets whisper more quickly.

Every sound becomes more picturesque,
The everyday things more unusual,
Behind the forest the sky becomes paler,
Every treetop lifts itself more clearly;

And in your striding you do not notice
How the light, magnified a hundred times,
Struggles forth from the darknesses.
Suddenly you stand there, overwhelmed.

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2011 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel (1863 - 1920), "Manche Nacht"
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This text was added to the website: 2011-05-24
Line count: 12
Word count: 73