Lágrima: Libations for Summer Mourning
We have taken a small summer break following our last episode and for good reason. The days have been hot and sadly, my father passed away during the month of July. Today, I have decided to open up and discuss my feelings and address the grief. As we delve into our collected 'summer mourning' we find time to talk of ghosts, relationships and our general malaise. It may not be the most cheeriest of topics but sometimes we must dance with the shadows to regain the light. So, dear listener, with the searing sun, the humid hours, with Dolli and her German Sekt and me my Spanish red wine, we lift a glass to the darker domains of our lives, indulging in our libations while seeking a gentle and pacific shore of peace.
Sehnsucht Yearning
- Joseph von Eichendorf (1788-1857) Translation - Christijan Robert Broerse
Es schienen so golden die Sterne, The stars shone, so golden
Am Fenster ich einsam stand I stood alone by the window
Und hörte aus weiter Ferne hearing from further afar
Ein Posthorn im stillen Land. A post horn across silent lands.
Das Herz mir im Leib entbrennte, In my belly, my heart burned
Da hab' ich mir heimlich gedacht: And I thought to myself so secretly
Ach wer da mitreisen könnte Oh, you who might travel with me
In der prächtigen Sommernacht! In the glorious summer night!
Zwei junge Gesellen gingen Two young souls wandering by
Vorüber am Bergeshang, They traveled over the mountainside,
Ich hörte im Wandern sie singen And I heard their singing in passing
Die stille Gegend entlang: Over the quiet countryside:
Von schwindelnden Felsenschlüften, These bemused stony canyons
Wo die Wälder rauschen so sacht, Where the woods rustle softly
Von Quellen, die von den Klüften These springs from clefts that
Sich stürzen in die Waldesnacht. Plunge into the rustic night
Sie sangen von Marmorbildern, These two sang songs of images made
Von Gärten, die über'm Gestein In marble, of gardens over rocks
In dämmernden Lauben verwildern, Arbors overgrown in twilight
Palästen im Mondenschein, Moonlight bathing palaces
Wo die Mädchen am Fenster lauschen, Where girls lean out listening from
Wann der Lauten Klang erwacht, Windows, the lute awakening them
Und die Brunnen verschlafen rauschen And the fountains murmuring sleepily
In der prächtigen Sommernacht. - In the glorious summer night…