The drifting leaf | Propelled before me

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by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Das treibende Blatt

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: CAT ENG ENG FRE

Vor mir her getrieben
Weht ein welkes Blatt.
Wandern, Jungsein und Lieben
Seine Zeit und sein Ende hat.

Das Blatt irrt ohne Gleise
Wohin der Wind es will,
Hält erst in Wald und Moder still . . .
Wohin geht meine Reise?

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Confirmed with Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, herausgegeben von Volker Michels, Band 10 Die Gedichte, bearbeitet von Peter Huber, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2002, page 63.

Text Authorship:

by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Das treibende Blatt", written 1900 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-24
Line count: 8
Word count: 43

The drifting leaf

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

Propelled before me
A wilted leaf is blown.
Wandering, being young, and loving
Have their time and their end.

The leaf strays about without a path
Whither the wind wishes,
It only comes to rest in forest and mould . . .
Where shall my journey take me?

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Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2017 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 Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), "Das treibende Blatt", written 1900
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This text was added to the website: 2017-12-19
Line count: 8
Word count: 49