Against whom, rose | Against whom, rose

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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Contre qui, rose

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG GER

Contre qui, rose,
avez-vous adopté
ces épines ?
Votre joie trop fine
vous a-t-elle forcée
de devenir cette chose
armée ?

Mais de qui vous protège
cette arme exagérée ?
Combien d'ennemis vous ai-je
enlevés
qui ne la craignaient point.
Au contraire, d'été en automne,
vous blessez les soins
qu'on vous donne.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Poèmes français, in 3. Les Roses, no. 12, first published 1927 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943), "Contre qui, rose", 1993, first performed 1994 [ chorus a cappella ], from Les Chansons des Roses, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882 - 1973), "Contre qui, rose", 1951 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Peter Visser (b. 1939), "Contre qui, rose", published 1987, copyright © 1987 [ voice and piano ], from Les roses, no. 2, Houten : Ascolta [sung text not yet checked]

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

GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-01-19
Line count: 15
Word count: 49

Against whom, rose

Language: English after the French (Français)

Against whom, rose,
have you adopted 
these thorns?
Is it your too-delicate joy
that has forced you
to become this
armed thing?

But from whom does this
exaggerated weaponry protect you?
How many enemies I've
removed from you
who feared it not at all.
On the contrary, from summer into autumn,
you wound the care 
that is bestowed on you.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Poèmes français, in 3. Les Roses, no. 12, first published 1927
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-07-09
Line count: 15
Word count: 60