Nach Asche schmeckt die Welt

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by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

The world feels dusty

Language: English

Our translations: CAT CHI FRE GER ITA

The world feels dusty,
when we stop to die...
We want the dew then
Honors taste dry...

Flags vex a dying face
But the least fan
stirred by a friend's hand
Cools like the rain

Mine be the ministry
when thy thirst comes...
Dews of thyself to fetch 
and holy balms.

About the headline (FAQ)

This version was published many times, including in the Atlantic Monthly (Volume 143, 1929), before the more authoritative versions came out with the more characteristic punctuation. There are also a few changes to the words in the last stanza. See below.

Text Authorship:

by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson [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 Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990), "The world feels dusty", 1949-50, published 1951 [ mezzo-soprano, piano ], from Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Another version of this text exists in the database.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

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

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El món té gust de pols", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
CHI Chinese (中文) (Yen-Chiang Che) , "這世界感到灰黯", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le monde se sent poussiéreux", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 51

Nach Asche schmeckt die Welt

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Nach Asche schmeckt die Welt
in unsrer Todesstund' ...
Nach Tau uns dürstet dann,
viel Ehr verdorrt den Mund ...

Der Fahnen Wind erbost
ein sterbend Angesicht -
des Freundes Fächeln bloß
wie kühles Nass erquickt.

Lass mich dein Beistand sein,
wenn Durst dir letztmals brennt,
dir deinen Tau verleihn
und labend Sakrament.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2011 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in English by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Further poems of Emily Dickinson
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2011-01-17
Line count: 12
Word count: 50