Rilke's Herbsttag (Autumn Day) (里爾克的秋日)

Originally I intended to translate this third poem a bit later. But since Superman has so kindly sent me a U-tube version of the poem, I might just as well render my own translation of this poem so as to make it even easier for the reader to compare the three different poems on more or less the same subject. Without further ado, here it is:  

        Herbsttag                            Autumn Day                               秋日

Herr: es ist Zeit. Der Sommmer war sehr groß.  Lord: it is time. The summer was great.  主：是時候了。夏天多好。

Leg deinen schlatten auf die Sonneuhren,        Lay your shadows on the sundial,            把你影子放日規上

und auf den Fluren laß die Winde los.            and into the meadow let off the wind        讓風返回草原上

 

Behiehl letzten Früchten voll zu sein             Order the last fruits to be full                  令季末之果豐盈

gieb ihnen noch zwei südlichere Tage,            give them just two more southern days,   給他們多兩南風天

dränge sie zur Vollendung hin und jage         urge them to fill up and chase                 勸他們豐滿與趕                    

die letzte Süße in den schweren Wein.            the last sweetness in the heavy wine.       醇酒最終之甜美

 

Wer jetzt kein Hause hat, baut sich keines mehr. Who hasn't a house now, will never build one 誰今沒房將永不建房

Wer jetzt allein ist, wird es lange bleiben,      Who is allone now, will long remain so,   誰今孤單亦長此下去

wird wachen, lesen, lange Briefe schreiben    will stay awake, read, write long letters,     會清童，閱讀 ，青寫長信

und wird in den Alleen hin und her                 and will wander up and down                會漫無目的地迂迴於

unruhig wandern, wenn die Blätter treiben.  the tree-lined lanes, when the leaves are bustling. 林蔭大道其時葉子正忙于捲飄。

This last poem of Rilke on autumn is different again from the other two. But it is still part of the  transitional Book of Images between Rilke's early and late poems. This is a period of instability, a period of exploration, a period in which the poet was still trying out his gait, his voice, his style, his tone and his personal color. This is also a period in which Rilke was still exploring God and mysticism. Hence we find that the poem starts with Lord, which is the Christian way of addressing God.

In this poem, we find that Rilke was also exploring the technique which he learned from Rodin, ie. how to make use of concrete images to express or embody the sentiments he wished to convey. One of the characteristics of such a method is to employ plenty of nouns, plenty of images. The nouns are used as if they were little pictures which the poet will add to the canvas of his poem. 

We also find that Rilke uses another technique: that of dialogue. He writes his poem as if he were talking to God, asking and begging God to do this and do that. In the first two stanzas, he talks about the natural season. In the third, he switches to the season of the poet's life. And he links both through the final image of the poet walking up and down or to and fro the tree-lined avenues whilst the withering leaves are being swept up by the autumn winds: through their common motion! I like his use of the word "groß" which in German could mean "big, large; great" in length, width, height, extent or older e.g. like big brother, sister or "long" or even "great" if we regard the season as a major or important event or piece of creative work. It's a word with such rich connotations!