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Wohl müßt' ich herzlich weinen, Herz! wärst du wirklich tot, Und könnt' mich nichts mehr einen Mit dir in Freud' und Not. Doch, sieh, seit du gestorben (Weiß nicht, wie mir geschah), Hab' ich dich erst erworben, Herz, bist du erst mir nah. Nicht Berg' und Tale trennen, O Herz! mich mehr von dir, Leis darf ich dich nur nennen, Da bist du schon bei mir; Dann legt sich schnell die Welle Im Herzen stürmischtrüb, Und in mir wird es helle Und um mich alles lieb. Die andern nicht begreifen, Was Sel'ges ich ersah! Was die nicht schauen, greifen, Das ist für sie nicht da. Die wissen nichts von drüben, Die wissen nur von hier, Nicht wie sich Geister lieben, Doch, Herz! - das wissen wir!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Kerners Werke, Zweiter Teil, Gedichte, ed. Raimund Pissin, Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co., 1914, pages 26-27.
Text Authorship:
- by Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Nähe des Toten", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-30
Line count: 24
Word count: 129
I would have to weep deeply, Heart! if you were truly dead, And if nothing could ever unite me again With you in joy and suffering. But see, since you died (I do not know what happened to me), Only then did I truly attain you, Heart, only since then are you truly near me. Not mountains and valleys separate Me any longer from you, oh heart! I only have to call out your name quietly, Then you are already with me; Then the wave quickly subsides In my heart that was dreary with storms, And within me it becomes bright And everything around me becomes lovely. The others do not comprehend What a blissful thing I see! What they do not see, grasp, That does not exist for them. They know nothing of the hereafter, They only know of here, They know not how spirits love, But, heart! - that is what we know!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesTranslated titles:
"Nähe des Toten" = "Nearness of the dead one"
"Nähe der Geliebten Todten" = "Nearness of the beloved dead"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2013 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 Justinus (Andreas Christian) Kerner (1786 - 1862), "Nähe des Toten", appears in Gedichte, in Die lyrischen Gedichte
Go to the general view
This text was added to the website: 2013-10-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 158