by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
Most she touched me by her muteness
Language: English
Available translation(s): GER
Most she touched me by her muteness -
Most she won me by the way
She presented her small figure -
Plea itself - for Charity -
Were a Crumb my whole possession -
Were there famine in the land -
Were it my resource from starving -
Could I such a plea withstand -
Not upon her knee to thank me
Sank this Beggar from the Sky -
But the Crumb partook - departed -
And returned On High -
I supposed - when sudden
Such a Praise began
'Twas as Space sat singing
To herself - and men -
'Twas the Winged Beggar -
Afterward I learned
To her Benefactor
Making Gratitude
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, Boston, Toronto: Little, Brown and Company, [1960], pages 372-373.
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, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) , title 1: "Die beflügelte Bettlerin", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 20
Word count: 114
Die beflügelte Bettlerin
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Am meisten war ich von ihrer Stummheit gerührt -
Am meisten gewann sie mich durch die Art
In der sie ihre kleine Gestalt präsentierte -
Schon in sich eine Bitte - um Barmherzigkeit -
Wäre ein Krumen meine ganze Habe -
Gäbe es Teuerung im Land -
Stände [der Krumen] zwischen mir und dem Hungerstod -
Könnte ich einer solchen Bitte wiederstehn -
Nicht auf ihren Knien mir zu danken
Sank diese Bettlerin aus der Luft hernieder -
Aber sie nahm den Krumen - flog fort -
Und kehrte in die Höhe zurück -
Ich meinte - als plötzlich
Solch ein Lobgesang ansetzte,
Es wäre der weite Raum, der sang,
Sich selbst - und den Menschen -
Es war die beflügelte Bettlerin -
Wie ich später erfuhr,
Die ihrem Wohltäter
Dank darbrachte.
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, written c1863, first published 1929
This text was added to the website: 2014-04-15
Line count: 20
Word count: 132