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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!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed 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:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Julian Philips (b. 1969), "The hummingbird", 1997/2002, published 2007 [ high voice and piano ], from An Amherst Bestiary, no. 8, Peters Edition [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Evan Williams (b. 1988), "Within My Garden Rides a Bird" [ soprano and piano ], from Emily's House (10 Poems from Emily Dickinson), no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , appears in Kinder-Lieder, in 2. Lieder und Bilder aus der Natur, copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) , "Der Kolibri", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 93
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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Based on:
- a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-28
Line count: 20
Word count: 104