by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Beloved, my Beloved, when I think
Language: English
Beloved, my Beloved, when I think That thou wast in the world a year ago, What time I sat alone here in the snow And saw no footprint, heard the silence sink No moment at thy voice, but, link by link, Went counting all my chains as if that so They never could fall off at any blow Struck by thy possible hand, -- why, thus I drink Of life's great cup of wonder! Wonderful, Never to feel thee thrill the day or night With personal act or speech, -- nor ever cull Some prescience of thee with the blossoms white Thou sawest growing! Atheists are as dull, Who cannot guess God's presence out of sight.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 20, first published 1850 [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 Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "Beloved, my Beloved, when I think", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 20 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Rainer Maria Rilke) , no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 20, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-12-13
Line count: 14
Word count: 114
Geliebter, mein Geliebter, wenn ich denk
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Geliebter, mein Geliebter, wenn ich denk vor einem Jahr -: Da saß ich noch wie eh, und deine Fußspur war noch nicht im Schnee, und rings das Schweigen war noch ungelenk, von deiner Stimme nicht geschult. Ich ließ die langen Ketten langsam, Glied nach Glied, durch meine Finger gehn, nicht wissend dies: daß du schon möglich warst. Wie mir geschieht, da ich des Lebens tiefes Staunen trinke. Und wunderlich, daß Tag und Nacht von dir nicht schon erzitterten. Was gaben mir die weißen Blumen, die du sahst, nicht Winke? So zugeschlossen sind, die Gott verneinen für seine Gegenwart. Ich wars der deinen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 20, first published 1908 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 20, first published 1850
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 102