Poetry - in German, this time

[tree_and_leaf]

On this day in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged in Flossenburg near Berlin; he was on the Nazi's list of political prisoners who were under no circumstances to be allowed to survive the war. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran minister and one of the founders of the 'Confessing Church', who objected to the integration of the church into the state. He was,of course, an extremely sharp theologian, and apparently a good radio broadcaster (he was finally banned from the air after describing Hitler as not a 'Führer', but a 'Verführer' (seducer)). He was employed for a time by the Abwehr, (Military Intelligence, a nest of conspirators, which explains how someone who'd been banned from public speaking could be employed as a spook), and was involved in a number of plots, including discussions about ways and means of killing Hitler; he also helped Jews to escape to Switzerland, and was arrested in 1943 because this came to light. He spent most of the rest of his life in a Gestapo prison in Berlin, but was sent to a concentration camp, tried for treason in a drumhead trial, and hanged for his connections to the July 20th plot against Hitler.

He wrote this poem shortly before New Year 1945, as a present for his parents and his fiancee. I think it's rather good, though unfortunately I haven't found a good English translation and juno_magic has kindly provided a translation in the comments.

He is commemorated today in the C of E calendar as theologian and martyr.




Von guten Mächten treu und still umgeben,
behütet und getröstet wunderbar,
so will ich diese Tage mit euch leben
und mit euch gehen in ein neues Jahr.

Noch will das alte unsre Herzen quälen,
noch drückt uns böser Tage schwere Last.
Ach Herr, gib unsern aufgeschreckten Seelen
das Heil, für das Du uns geschaffen hast.

Und reichst Du uns den schweren Kelch, den bittern,
des Leids, gefüllt bis an den höchsten Rand,
so nehmen wir ihn dankbar ohne Zittern
aus Deiner guten und geliebten Hand.

Doch willst Du uns noch einmal Freude schenken
an dieser Welt und ihrer Sonne Glanz,
dann woll′n wir des Vergangenen gedenken
und dann gehört Dir unser Leben ganz.

Lass warm und hell die Kerzen heute flammen
die Du in unsre Dunkelheit gebracht,
führ, wenn es sein kann, wieder uns zusammen!
Wir wissen es, Dein Licht scheint in der Nacht.

Wenn sich die Stille nun tief um uns breitet,
so lass uns hören jenen vollen Klang
der Welt, die unsichtbar sich um uns weitet,
all Deiner Kinder hohen Lobgesang.

Von guten Mächten wunderbar geborgen
erwarten wir getrost, was kommen mag.
Gott ist bei uns am Abend und am Morgen
und ganz gewiss an jedem neuen Tag.

Comments

[juno-magic.livejournal.com]

I translated that a while ago (March 2005). Don't know if the translation is any good though.

By Gracious Powers Wonderfully Sheltered

By gracious powers silently surrounded
Comforted and protected without fail
In You our every day is truly founded
With You New Year is really no travail.

Dark memories may haunt us yet today,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear,
From pain and anguish, Lord, to you we pray
Grant us the hope You did for us prepare!

And if You offer us the cup of sorrow,
With bitterness filled right up to the brim,
Grateful, we take Your gift we’d never forego
We know Your goodness too when life is grim.

But should You give us joy for one last moment,
Of this whole world and all the sun’s bright shine,
Then we will think of how our lives are crescent
And then our fates will be forever Thine!

Let warm and bright the candles now be burning
You brought to us in this dark night,
And by Your grace we may yet be returning
To meet again protected by Your light.

When wide and still the silence now surrounds us
So let us hear that deep mysterious sound
Of all the world invisibly embraced thus,
With songs of joy arising all around.

By gracious powers wonderfully sheltered
We face the future, come whatever may,
Through day and night our prayers will be answered,
And certainly God is with us today.

Translation by JunoMagic, based on the translation by F. Pratt Green (1972).

[tree_and_leaf]

Thank you for posting this! I'm not sure about the crescent lives, but otherwise it's pretty good (and you have my deepest respect for translating into your second language, even with the aid of Green's version!)

[tree_and_leaf]

(Oh, and I'd tend to 'and then our lives will be forever thine' - it's closer to the German and I think what Bonhoeffer is getting at is the relationship between God and the believer, rather than simply a statement about God's power to direct events)

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I love this poem so much. It's so full of hope and love despite what was happening to him and around him at the time.

[tree_and_leaf]

Amazing to think this was written by a man sitting in a Gestapo cell, who knew perfectly well that he might not see the next new year, and yet remained faithful and able to love. It's a wonderful poem.

[lizw.livejournal.com]

In Germany, this is often sung as a hymn. I love it.

[tree_and_leaf]

I've sung it at a German Scout camp, but though I've seen it in the hymnbook, I've never sung it in church. I've probably never been in Germany at the right time of year.

Bonhoeffer

[(Anonymous)]

"...Von guten Mächten wunderbar geborgen
erwarten wir getrost, was kommen mag..."

We (my husband and i) have chosen these words for our wedding (1987).


Best regards,
Angelika Wienert (Oberhausen/Germany)

Re: Bonhoeffer

[tree_and_leaf]

Quite appropriate, give that one of the people Bonhoeffer addressed it to was his fiancée. And it's a very moving poem, in any case.