back to Georg Trakl

“Soul of Life” by Georg Trakl 🇦🇹 (3 Feb 18873 Nov 1914)
Translated from the German by Jim Doss & Werner Schmitt
Decay, which gently darkens the foliage,
Its wide silence dwells in the forest.
Soon a village seems to incline ghostly.
The sister’s mouth whispers in black branches.
The lonely one will soon slip away,
Perhaps a shepherd on a dark paths.
An animal steps quietly from the arcade of trees,
While the eyelids widen before divinity.
The blue river runs beautifully past.
Clouds appear in the evening;
The soul also in angelic silence.
Transient shapes go under.