Wir stellen uns aufs Dunkel ein

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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

We grow accustomed to the Dark

Language: English

Our translations: GER

We grow accustomed to the Dark -
When Light is put away -
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Good bye - 

A Moment - We uncertain step
For newness of the night -
Then - fit our Vision to the Dark -
And meet the Road - erect - 

And so of larger - Darknesses -
Those Evenings of the Brain -
When not a Moon disclose a sign -
Or Star - come out - within -

The Bravest - grope a little -
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead -
But as they learn to see - 

Either the Darkness alters -
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight -
And Life steps almost straight.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title [author's text not yet checked 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 David Horowicz (b. 1960), "We grow accustomed to the Dark", 1988 [ soprano, viola, mandolin, guitar ], from Five songs on poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Bertram Kottmann

This text was added to the website: 2018-06-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 105

Wir stellen uns aufs Dunkel ein

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Wir stellen uns aufs Dunkel ein,
wenn’s uns an Licht gebricht,
wie wenn, gehn wir vom Nachbarn heim,
weicht seiner Lampe Licht.

Nur kurz - ist zaghaft unser Schritt,
an Nacht noch nicht gewohnt,
dann wirkt das Aug im Dunkel mit:
wir schreiten sicher fort.

So auch, wenn es noch finstrer wird -
wenn’s Abend wird im Hirn,
wenn uns kein Mond und auch kein Stern
im Kopf ein Zeichen gibt.

Die Kühnsten tasten sich den Weg,
stoßen gelegentlich
die Stirn am Baume sich,
doch wenn sie besser seh’n,

wandelt das Dunkel sich
oder etwas in ihrem Seh’n
stellt sich auf tiefstes Dunkel ein:
Fast glatt wird’s dann im Leben gehn.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2018 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:

a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2018-06-29
Line count: 20
Word count: 109