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Erich Kästner:
Der September
Das ist ein Abschied ...
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...und was vorüber schien, beginnt.
Ja, tut mir leid. Aber vor zwei, drei Jahren ging eine Welle von Geldforderungen durch Deutschland, z.B. an Lehrer(!), die Erich Kästners Gedichte im Unterricht/Internet verwendeten.
Sie bestehen auf dem Originalgedicht? Naja, ich verstehe. Und sie verstehen Englisch. Schauen Sie einmal auf die rechte Seite hinüber. Nein, nein, ich meine nicht rückübersetzen - obwohl, das wäre doch was, oder? Aber es würde ins Auge gehen. In meines! Nein, ich meine nur den Erich-Kästner-Kinderdorf URL für den September...
Und weil wir schon bei URLs sind: Dank Dir, weise Eule vom Gedichtepool, für die © Warnung!
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Erich Kästner:
September
This is a parting full of banners:
the blue of plum and apple's green.
The garden hoists the aster's scanners
and thousand mullins shine between.
This is a parting full of brasses,
of giving thanks, of peasant balls.
With cowbells chiming, from the grasses
the motley herds march to their stalls.
This is a parting full of fragrance,
of ancient smells again revealed:
the jams' and jellies' boiling cadence,
the roasting taters in the field.
This is a parting full of hustle,
of spits with chickens, steins with stout.
The giant swings to heaven bustle,
but may not prove enough devout.
The starlings start their fall migration
and gossamer floats in the winds.
A loud and silent separation:
the carousels are in rotation
and what seems gone again begins.
Sorry for my pisspoor job on the third line! Kästner really says there: The garden flags [hoists or displays as flags] wallflowers and asters. Please understand: I was in sore need of a rhyme for "banners"! Now, asters, at least the type popular in Germany, have these prominent sharp ears pricking up, these scanners...
By the way, Kästner's next line uses mullins ("Königskerzen" in German, literally "King's Candles"), to enhance the image of royal flags and banners - and I failed to come up with a good English equivalent. Any ideas?
But what about Kästner's poem, you ask? I am sorry. You see, a couple of years ago a wave of lawyer's bills swept through Germany, swamping idealistic teachers that had used Kästner's writing in internet-augmented courses - and making them pay cash for it. Erich Kästner - particularly Erich Kästner, who is admired for his understanding of and kindness to children, and justly famous for his character and into-your-face political opinions during the Third Reich (which burned his books and imprisoned him repeatedly)! - must have been turning in his grave.
Yes, I know. Canadians take a less - well, petty, pedantic, legalistic, bureaucratic, sclerotic, depressing, self-defeating, you name it - view of such matters (at least I fervently hope so!). And this hallowed ground, you may have noticed, is a Canadian website. So I should get away with it. But I actually appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate what could happen to great literature - on both sides of the Atlantic! - if common sense and common heritage become hostage to the blindness of the law (and the greed of the lawyer).
You still want your poem? I understand. It is indeed much better than my translation. Of course, what else. Enjoy Der September courtesy of a home for troubled children (Kinderdorf), which bears Kästner's name and inherited his books and personal belongings - but unfortunately not his copyrights.
You've already found that URL by googling "Erich Kaestner" + "Der September" ? Well, good for you! Isn't it a wonderful poem afterall?
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