by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Within my Garden, rides a Bird
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE GER
Within my Garden, rides a Bird
[Opon]1 a single Wheel --
Whose spokes a dizzy Music make
As 'twere a travelling Mill --

He never stops, but slackens --
Above the Ripest Rose -
Partakes without alighting --
And praises as he goes,

Till every spice is tasted --
And then his Fairy Gig
Reels in remoter atmospheres --
And I rejoin my Dog,

And He and I, perplex us
If positive, 'twere we --
Or bore the Garden in the Brain
This Curiosity -

But He, the best Logician,
Refers my clumsy eye --
To just vibrating Blossoms!
An Exquisite Reply!

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. Philips 

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Confirmed with The Poems of Emily Dickinson, ed. R.W. Franklin, Volume 2, Cambridge, MA and London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998, Poem 370. Note: in one of the earlier published versions of this poem, stanza 5, line 2, word 3 was "duller" instead of "clumsy".

1 [sic] ; Philips: "Upon"

Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-08-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 93

Der Kolibri
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
In meinem Garten schwirrt ein Vogel
Auf einem einzigen Rad -
Dessen Sprossen eine schwindlige Musik machen,
Als wäre es eine fahrende Mühle -

Er hält nie ein, aber vermindert seine Geschwindigkeit
Über der reifsten Rose -
Er nascht, ohne sich niederzulassen -
Und lobt beim Davonfliegen,

Bis jede Würze gekostet wurde -
Und dann wirbelt sein Fee’en-Wagen
Hinweg in fernere Regionen -
Und ich geselle mich wieder zu meinem Hund,

Und er und ich sind verblüfft,
Ob wir das wirklich erlebten -
Oder ob nur der Garten unsres Gehirns
Diese Kuriosität barg -

Aber er, der beste Logiker,
Weist mein schwerfälliges Auge -
Zu den noch eben zitternden Blüten!
Eine köstliche Antwort!

Note for stanza 5, line 2, word 3: for the earlier published version of the poem, the translation of the word would be "trüberes" instead of "schwerfälliges".


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2014 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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This text was added to the website: 2014-08-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 104