Kuno Raeber

THE ABDUCTION | INSIGHT | THE FOUNTAIN
August 23, 2016 Raeber Kuno

DIE ENTFÜHRUNG

 

Den Falken, den er eben gekauft, an der Wange,
singt auf dem Verdeck der Knabe den Händlern,
die laut ihm jubeln und lauter, bis dass ihm wegreisst die Stimme
der Wind, die Rahe ihm schlägt ins gewendete Lachen
und er, tränenwirr rings auf die Hämischen blickend,
den Falken als Boten, dass er geraubt auf dem endlosen
Wasser gefangen, loslässt ans Ufer zum Vater.

*****

 

THE ABDUCTION

 

The falcon, which he’s just bought, at his cheek,
the boy on the deck sings to the mongers making
loud joyous noises at him, then louder till the wind
tears his voice away, the main yard striking him, laughter
turning on him, and he, bewildered, in tears, looks around
at them gloating, the falcon as herald, which thieving
he caught on the boundless waters, releasing it
toward shore to his father.

 

 

EINSICHT

Wenn der Himmel in Scherben herab-
stürzt, dann drehen die Blätter die helle
Seite nach oben und schütteln
die Raupen zu Boden, als ob sie
wüßten, dass zu Mittag ein Vogel
in den Zweigen schaukelt und über dem Leichnam
wacht, den wir heimlich
unter den Wurzeln begruben.

*****

 

INSIGHT

 

When the sky plunges down
in pieces, then all the leaves turn their bright
side up and shake
the caterpillars to the ground, as if they
knew that at noon a bird
will swing in the branches and keep watch
over the body, which we secretly
buried under the roots.

 

 

DER BRUNNEN

Fällt mir der Adler, kaum befreit von der Schlange,
schnell in den Nacken und kratzt die Wange mir blutig,
wenn ich mich bücke, zu trinken:
sinkt drüben schon stöhnend das Reh vornüber ins Wasser,
das speiend die Schlange vergiftet, als ich sie würgte.

*****

 

THE FOUNTAIN

 

When I bend to drink
the eagle, barely freed from the snake,
quickly falls on my neck and scratches my cheek bloody:
over there the deer, moaning, sinks headlong into the water,
which, spewing, poisons the snake as I strangled it.

 

Great thanks to scaneg verlag/Munich for permission to translate.

Poet Kuno Raeber (1922-1992) was a student of theology, philosophy, history, literature, and mythology, who also studied for the priesthood; but he would lose his faith after a deep spiritual crisis, though the images of his religious upbringing never left him. They were instead transformed into metaphors that blend Christian imagery with a broader mystical tradition to celebrate the power of poetic creation. An early member of Gruppe 47, he spent some anxious years working past “the noise” until emerging as an original in his own right, who lived and wrote by his own lights.