19 February, 2008

A Magic Dwells In Each Beginning

A friend of mine, Tine, is such a unique person. She can recite poetry the night through. She loves poetry, has read many volumes, and she posses the formable ability to find the right lines of poetry for every occasion or topic of conversation.

The day before yesterday I was wondering about the meaning of Wechseljahre. Tine sent me the line “A magic dwells in each beginning” from Hermann Hesse’s poem, Stufen, as a reminder that every life phase is also something positive.

blossoms

Steps

As every blossom fades
and all youth sinks into old age,
so every life’s design, each flower of wisdom,
attains its prime and cannot last forever.
The heart must submit itself courageously
to life’s call without a hint of grief,
A magic dwells in each beginning,
protecting us, telling us how to live.

High purposed we shall traverse realm on realm,
cleaving to none as to a home,
the world of spirit wishes not to fetter us
but raise us higher, step by step.
Scarce in some safe accustomed sphere of life
have we establish a house, then we grow lax;
only he who is ready to journey forth
can throw old habits off.

Maybe death’s hour too will send us out new-born
towards undreamed-lands,
maybe life’s call to us will never find an end
Courage my heart, take leave and fare thee well.

Hermann Hesse


And for those of you who wish to read the original German version, here it is:

Stufen

Wie jede Blüte welkt und jede Jugend
Dem Alter weicht, blüht jede Lebensstufe,
Blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede Tugend
Zu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
Es muß das Herz bei jedem Lebensrufe
Bereit zum Abschied sein und Neubeginne,
Um sich in Tapferkeit und ohne Trauern
In andre, neue Bindungen zu geben.
Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne,
Der uns beschützt und der uns hilft zu leben.

Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
Er will uns Stuf´ um Stufe heben, weiten.

Kaum sind wir heimisch einem Lebenskreise
Und traulich eingewohnt, so droht Erschlaffen,
Nur wer bereit zu Aufbruch ist und Reise,
Mag lähmender Gewöhnung sich entraffen.
Es wird vielleicht auch noch die Todesstunde
Uns neuen Räumen jung entgegensenden,
Des Lebens Ruf an uns wird niemals enden ...
Wohlan denn, Herz, nimm Abschied und gesunde !

Hermann Hesse

5 comments:

  1. How beautiful. I needed that today.

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  2. I just realized that I never read the whole poem. Weird. Or maybe not considering that I haven't read Hesse at all.

    I'll be thinking about this for awhile.

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  3. That poem was always dear to me ever since I had to write about it for my final exams in 1963. In Munich and in German.

    Now I put a link to your beautiful page on my latest blog: http://it4hope.wordpress.com

    In gratitude,
    Sabine
    www.3dmetrics.co.uk

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  4. Sabine, Thank you for the link. I will be following your blog with interest.

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  5. How remarkable, dear Anonymous, your reminder of what we need to learn!

    Thanks from "left of Berlin" in former East Germany where I was part of the church choir for the first time today - another magic in another beginning...

    Sabine
    Organiser, Forum for Stable Currencies

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