Heinrich Heine (13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. The eldest of four children, he was born into a Jewish family and, during his childhood, was called ‘Harry’ until after his conversion to Lutheranism in 1825. Heine’s father, Samson Heine (1764–1828), was a textile merchant. His mother Peira (known as ‘Betty’), née van Geldern (1771–1859), was the daughter of a physician.
He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of lieder (art songs) by composers such as Robert Schumann and Franz Schubert. Heine’s later verse and prose are distinguished by their satirical wit and irony. He is considered a member of the Young Germany movement. His radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities — which, however, only added to his fame. He spent the last 25 years of his life as an expatriate in Paris.
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Heinrich Heine: Four Poems translated by Terese Coe
PHANTOM ISLAND
My love, we sat together
in the little skiff in devotion.
In the hush of night we slipped into
the boundlessness of the ocean.
The shining phantom island
lay silver under the moon.
Its far-off tune danced on the waves
and haunted the fog with song.
And ever sweet and sweeter,
it swayed us in the lee
till we drifted past the island,
disconsolate, out to sea.
*
Mein Liebchen, wir saßen beisammen,
Traulich im leichten Kahn.
Die Nacht war still, und wir schwammen
Auf weiter Wasserbahn.
Die Geisterinsel, die schöne,
Lag dämmrig im Mondenglanz;
Dort klangen liebe Töne,
Und wogte der Nebeltanz.
Dort klang es lieb und lieber,
Und wogt’ es hin und her;
Wir aber schwammen vorüber,
Trostlos auf weitem Meer.
Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder XLII
***
QUATRAIN
I almost gave up at the start
and thought I’d never make it.
Now that I’ve finally made it,
I ask myself, how did I take it?
*
Anfangs wollt ich fast verzagen,
Und ich glaubt, ich trüg es nie;
Und ich hab es doch getragen –
Aber fragt mich nur nicht, wie?
***
THE SEA
The sea is a stream of glitter
as if it were gold in motion.
My brother, when I wither,
sink me deep in the ocean!
I have always loved the ocean
as it, with its gentle flow,
has often cooled my fever.
We were good to one another.
*
Das Meer erstrahlt im Sonnenschein,
Als ob es golden wär.
Ihr Brüder, wenn ich sterbe,
Versenkt mich in das Meer!
Hab immer das Meer so lieb gehabt,
Es hat mit sanfter Flut
So oft mein Herz gekühlet;
Wir waren einander gut.
***
IF SOMEONE ASKED TODAY
If someone asked today, my love,
Is she not a fantasy
that rises from the summer heat
or a poet’s strategy?
But no, I’d say, there is no such mouth,
such magical light in the eyes–
such a love, and such a girl,
no poet could devise.
The reptile and the dragon,
the serpent and the devils,
such terrible mythical monsters
are a poet’s fire and revels.
But you and your petty malice
and your artful pretty looks
and your sanctimonious airs–
no poet puts that in a book.
*
Liebste, sollst mir heute sagen:
Bist du nicht ein Traumgebild,
Wies in schwülen Sommertagen
Aus dem Hirn des Dichters quillt?
Aber nein, ein solches Mündchen,
Solcher Augen Zauberlicht,
Solch ein liebes, süßes Kindchen,
Das erschafft der Dichter nicht.
Basilisken und Vampire,
Lindenwürm und Ungeheur,
Solche schlimmen Fabeltiere
Die erschafft des Dichters Feur.
Aber dich und deine Tücke,
Und dein holdes Angesicht,
Und die falschen frommen Blicke –
Das erschafft der Dichter nicht.
Heinrich Heine, Buch der Lieder XVI
Terese Coe‘s poems and translations have appeared in Agenda, Alaska Quarterly Review, Cincinnati Review, The Classical Outlook, Hopkins Review, Metamorphoses, The Moth, New American Writing, New Scotland Writing, Ploughshares, Poetry, Poetry Review, Stinging Fly, Stone Canoe, The Threepenny Review, and the TLS, among many others. Her collection Shot Silk was short-listed for the 2017 Poets Prize. Her poem ‘More’ was chosen to be heli-dropped across London for the 2012 Olympics Rain of Poems. For more details about her work, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terese_Coe .
The High Window 