The Poetry of Friedrich Georg Jünger
Selected translations of F.G. Jünger's poetry, from his "Sämtliche Gedichte 1" , published by Klett-Cotta.
PRAISE SONG You laugh, quietly, marking the movement's void You in your own-most severity, which, My love, you've made so light. It's through my love of the magnificent glow, the splendor of God, that silent beauty blooms and what blooms in turn is made ripe; Because you freely waste yourself, Untamed by duty's yoke For what's perfect doesn't serve The laws of other folk That's why you were for me so dear, Nourishing me like the air Water you were for me, and fire, Nothing's sweeter than your scent.
BETWEEN DAY AND NIGHT Oh, fiery ray! The singing swan Plummets to its death. A bloody time Blossoms in the pipe. A tender down To plunder the winds The hunter's foot Perishes down the pipe. The darkening flood Kidnapped the corpse
ROSES AND FIRS It's said that roses planted near fir trees smell fairer and stronger And strawberries raised amongst spruces ripen more sweetly. I believe that kisses stolen amidst the gloomy night are sweeter, and embraces in darkness are more fiery than the day's flames.
TO WINE As I seized the cup and drank from it wine, I got a fright, Subterranean embers ran from the sparkling chalice. Singing, I honored the wine, I raised it in free song, I reverently hailed its secret power: Like the bull you raise your head, your eyes roll red, Veins of streaming blood swell all purple from you Yes, the light alone did not ripen you. You sink in fire, which burns in the earth, deep down to your roots. You ignite your breast twofold, double fire gushes out Wild with violence of the primordial word, in a sober sense.
THE SISTER Be wary of my sister Ever covetous rapture. From the treetops, into the nests She peers, mad with rage. Through the hedges, through the gates She hastens, sparkling like ore. Woe! The bite of the blue adder Forces you to scream in pain. Of all that rolls golden In the sun's hot shine, All which belongs to the light, The beloved loves me alone. I am her only and her dearest, I alone belong to her. The wild fire of her innocence Stills itself only for me.