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by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)

Wenn wie ein leises Flügelbreiten
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Wenn wie ein leises Flügelbreiten
sich in den späten Lüften wiegt, -
ich möchte immer weiter schreiten
bis in das Tal, wo tiefgeschmiegt
an abendrote Einsamkeiten
die Sehnsucht wie ein Garten liegt.

Vielleicht darf ich dich dorten finden,
und zage wird dein erstes Mühn
die wehen Wünsche mir verbinden,
du wirst mich führen tief ins Grün -
und heimlich werden weiße Winden
an meinem staubigen Stabe blühn. 

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke,R.M.,Gesammelte Werke (Gedichte), Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe GmbH, 2020


Text Authorship:

  • by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Advent, in Funde, no. 1 [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 Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), "Wenn wie ein leises Flügelbreiten", 1926 [ soprano and piano ], from Rilke-Lieder, no. 6, Wien IX, Türkensir. 9, Edit. Vienna / Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, adapted by Leon Berger (b. 1956) , "Longing", copyright © ; composed by Donald Ibrahim Swann.
    • Go to the text.

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2023-09-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 65

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