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It started as a language exercise in the German class the other day. Our professor told us to try our hand in writing a little poetry after explaining the nuances of Vergnügungen, a poem by Bertold Brecht. The original poem is in German (Deutsch). But she told us to write it in English. “We can translate it at the end of the term”, she said. I was not thinking much about the form or content when I attempted it. Words came. Like Pablo Neruda said, “Poetry arrived in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where it came from…” No, no… I am not claiming what I wrote was a great poem. I even don’t know whether it could be called a poem. But I liked the result. Here it is.

Pleasures

Solitude

Company of loved ones

Reading a good book

Listening to a favourite song

Watching the rainbow

Walking in the rain

Riding a bike along a country road

Walking the streets of a strange town at dusk

Visiting an old temple

Long drives

Short walks

Music

Silence

Dark nights

Bright afternoons

Rainy evenings

Waking up

Falling asleep

Placid lake

Choppy sea.

Now read the original…

Vergnügungen / Bertold Brecht

Der erste Blick aus dem Fenster am Morgen

Das wiedergefundene alte Buch

Begeisterte Gesichter

Schnee, der Wechsel der Jahreszeiten

Die Zeitung

Der Hund

Die Dialektik

Duschen, Schwimmen

Alte Musik

Bequeme Schuhe

Begreifen

Neue Musik

Schreiben, Pflanzen

Reisen

Singen

Freundlich sein.

…and here is the translation

Pleasures / Bertold Brecht

The first view from the window in the morning

The rediscovered old book

Enthusiastic faces

Snow, the change of seasons

The newspaper

The dog

The dialectic

Showers, swimming

Early Music

Comfortable shoes

Comprehension

New Music

Writing, Plants

Travel

Singing

To be friendly.

I decided to post this in my blog simply because it gives the blog a different look and adds some variety.