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.

Olivenbäume bei Tivoli (Olive Trees Near Tivoli), Hans Thomas - Von der Heydt-Museum, Wuppertal

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…