February: After Storm, Breaking Trail
(click on photo to enlarge)
After Strom, Breaking Trail "many hearts feel more comfortable with
your rain -- time of winter -- your wind
you with your cold clear stars
promise not more than you love"


This week, an image of trail breaking
after a heavy snow storm, together
with a new translation of a Dutch
ode to winter.



The guest poem for this week is To Winter, by the Dutch poet, Jan Hanlo:




Aan de Winter

O wintertijd zo schaars bezongen
waarin de straten nat of koud
waarin de sneeuw het groen bedwongen
de bloemen in hun knoppen houdt

niet kent gij -- wintertijd -- de vreugden
de droefheid die het voorjaar heeft
maar naakt en sober zijn uw deugden
en niet meer hebt gij dan gij geeft

wat doet ons -- wintertijd -- soms zuchten
wanneer -- zo rijk -- de lente komt
misschien dat wij uw afscheid duchten
of dat uw naaktheid zich vermomt

bij vele harten passen beter
uw regen -- wintertijd -- uw wind
gij met uw koude klare sterren
belooft niet meer dan gij bemint


          Jan Hanlo
 (1912-1969)
To Winter

O time of winter so scarcely sung
when streets are wet or cold
when the snow has driven away the green
and holds blossoms in their buds

you do not know -- time of winter -- the joy
the sadness which comes with spring
but plain and naked are your virtues
and you have not more than you have

what makes us -- time of winter -- sigh
when -- so rich -- the spring comes
perhaps that we dread your departure
or that you disguise your nakedness

many hearts feel more comfortable with
your rain -- time of winter -- your wind
you with your cold clear stars
promise not more than you love

           
               (tr. Cliff Crego)






Here are a some of the other images of snow which are a part of the Picture/Poem display:
(1) Sharp Wind, Ski Tracks, Spring Snow
(2) Twenty Snowy Mountains
(3) Rising Sun, Setting Moon
(4) Snow Circles
(5) Ovid and No Trespassing
(6) Mountain Farmer with Six Milk Cows
(7) Red Ribbons in Snow Storm
(8) Two Lights, Fresh Snow



See
also:

new
"Straight roads,
Slow rivers,
Deep clay."
A collection of contemporary Dutch poetry
in English translation, with commentary
and photographs
by Cliff Crego


| See also a selection of recent Picture/Poem "Rilke in translation" features at the Rilke Archive.

See also another website
by Cliff Crego:
The Poetry of
Rainer Maria Rilke
A presentation of 80 of the
best poems of Rilke in
both German and
new English translations
:
biography, links, posters


| # listen to other recordings in English and German of eight poems from
The Book of Images
at The Rilke Download Page (# Includes instructions)
|
| back to r2c | back to Picture/Poems: Central Display |
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Photographs and Texts © 2000 Cliff Crego
(created
II.20.2000) Comments to crego@picture-poems.com