Reflections
Dear Readers,
This week I have two poems for you that Hannah Arendt wrote to her husband Heinrich Blücher in 1946 and 1952.
The first time Arendt visited Europe after the war she was struck by the landscape. She wrote to her friend and mentor Karl Jaspers that the cities reminded her of the Heidelberg Castle, in ruins and waiting for visitors.
Arendt returned in 1952 on an unofficial trip for the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Commission. She spent March to August traveling around Europe, conducting research in various libraries, and visiting her friends Jaspers, Anne Weil, and Alfred Kazin.
Unlike her first trip back to Europe, she was able to enjoy the renewed landscape. And she was so moved by the beauty of the natural colors and architecture that she wrote a poem to her husband marveling at the scenery.
I hope you enjoy these two. They are two of my favorites.
Until next week,
Sam
Reflections
#1
Ich weiss, dass die Strassen zerstört sind.
Wo leuchtet die Wagenspur, die wunderbar unversehrte
aus antiken Trümmern hervor?
Ich weiss, dass die Häuser gestürzt sind.
In sie traten wir in die Welt, wunderbar sicher, dass sie
beständiger als wir selbst.
Ob der Mond, den wir diesmal vergassen,
in seinem beständigeren Licht
der Pferde Hufe noch mitträgt
wie ein Echo aus des Flusses schweigendem Gesicht?
#2
Fahrt durch Frankreich
Erde dichtet Feld an Feld,
flicht die Bäume ein daneben,
lässt uns unsere Wege weben
um die Äcker in die Welt.
Blüten jubeln in dem Winde,
Gras schiesst auf, sie weich zu betten,
Himmel blaut und grüsst mit Linde,
Sonne spinnt die sanften Ketten.
Menschen gehen unverloren –
Erde, Himmel, Licht und Wald –
jeden Frühling neugeboren
spielend in das Spiel der Allgewalt.
Auszug aus: Hannah Arendt "Ich selbst, auch ich tanze · Die Gedichte.“
Thank you dear Samantha, for this beautiful view to the castle at night. Heidelberg illuminated fits well with the season. In conclusion, I am surprised. Your translation, your performance, your voice is touching me more than the original. How can that be? Your translation into English is really extraordinary. Thank you 💙
Who are the friends in the photo? Do you know?
The photo of the castle and the city reminds me of a debate that was going on in Prague
about ten years ago about "light pollution." The Czechs do seem to like things on the dark side.