by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Vollendung
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  ENG FRE
    Wer meine Freunde sind?
    Zugvögel, überm Ozean verirrt,
    Schiffbrüchige Schiffer, Herden ohne Hirt,
    Die Nacht, der Traum, der heimatlose Wind. . .1

Ich weiß: an irgend einem fernen Tag
Wird alles Gute, das in mir gefangen
An stillen Ketten müd und tatlos lag,
Zu Licht und Tat und Herrlichkeit gelangen.

Ich weiß: dann wird tot und vergangen sein
Der welke Wintertraum, an dem ich kranke,
Dann wird mein Schlaf voll süßen Trostes sein
Und voll verklärten Wissens mein Gedanke.

Ich weiß: dann wird Er, den ich oft geahnt,
Der unbekannte Gott mir still begegnen
Und auf die Stirn mir legen seine Hand
Und gütig mich mit seinem Frieden segnen.

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View original text (without footnotes)

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 498.

1 a self-quotation from an earlier poem by Hesse (1898) called Geständnis.

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):

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Completion", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Accomplissement", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-08-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 111

Completion
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
  Who my friends are?
  Migratory birds, lost over the ocean,
  Shipwrecked sailors, flocks without a shepherd,
  The night, the dream, the homeless wind.

I know: once on some distant day
All the goodness that lay locked within me
In silent chains, weary and inactive,
Shall find its way to light and action and glory.

I know:  then shall be dead and past
The wilted winter dream that makes me ill,
Then shall my sleep be filled with sweet comfort
And my thoughts filled with transfigured knowing.

I know:  then shall He, whose existence I have often sensed,
The unknown God, quietly come to meet me
And shall lay His hand upon my brow
And graciously bless me with His peace.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English 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: 2014-08-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 121