by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
My future will not copy fair my past
Language: English
My future will not copy fair my past -- I wrote that once; and thinking at my side My ministering life-angel justified The word by his appealing look upcast To the white throne of God, I turned at last, And there, instead, saw thee, not unallied To angels in thy soul! Then I, long tried By natural ills, received the comfort fast, While budding, at thy sight, my pilgrim's staff Gave out green leaves with morning dews impearled. I seek no copy now of life's first half: Leave here the pages with long musing curled, And write me new my future's epigraph, New angel mine, unhoped for in the world!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 42, first published 1847 [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 Lois Butler (b. 1912), "Sonnet XLII" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "My future will not copy fair my past", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 42 [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. 42, first published 1908
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-24
Line count: 14
Word count: 109
Nicht eine Reinschrift von Gewesenem...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Nicht eine Reinschrift von Gewesenem wird mir meine Zukunft sein, so schrieb ich, glaubend der Engel stünde da, mir dies erlaubend durch sein zu Gott unendlich unbeirrt gewandtes Antlitz. Aber schließlich wandte ich mich und fand an seiner Stelle dich, der Umgang hat mit Engeln. Plätzlich wich Siechtum von mir, da ich den Trost erkannte; mein Pilgerstab schlug aus in deinem Blick und stand im Morgentau. Und mein Geschick wird künftig nicht des alten Abschrift werden: laß das zerlesene Buch, das mich betrifft, und schreib mir meiner Zukunft Überschrift, mein neuer Engel, unverhofft auf Erden.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 42, first published 1908 [author's text checked 1 time 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. 42, first published 1847
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: 95