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

Liebe
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Available translation(s): ENG
Wieder will mein froher Mund begegnen
Deinen Lippen, die mich küssend segnen,
Deine lieben Finger will ich halten
Und in meine Finger spielend falten,
Meinen Blick an deinem dürstend füllen,
Tief mein Haupt in deine Haare hüllen,
Will mit immerwachen jungen Gliedern
Deiner Glieder Regung treu erwidern
Und aus immer neuen Liebesfeuern
Deine Schönheit tausendmal erneuern,
Bis wir ganz gestillt und dankbar beide
Selig wohnen über allem Leide,
Bis wir Tag und Nacht und Heut und Gestern
Wunschlos grüßen als geliebte Schwestern,
Bis wir über allem Tun und Handeln
Als Verklärte ganz im Frieden wandeln.

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 192.


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) , "Love", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-05-06
Line count: 16
Word count: 95

Love
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Once again my joyful lips wish to meet 
Your lips, which bless me in kissing,
I wish to hold your dear fingers
And fold them playfully in mine,
Thirstily [I wish] to fill my gaze in yours,
To wrap my head deeply in your hair,
With ever watchful young limbs
To respond faithfully to the moving of yours
And from out of ever new fires of love
To renew your beauty a thousandfold,
Until, completely assuaged and grateful, 
We both dwell above all suffering,
Until, contented, we greet day and night
And today and yesterday as beloved sisters,
Until, above all labour and activity,
We wander in complete peace as transfigured beings.

Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2019 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: 2019-02-04
Line count: 16
Word count: 112