# Grabmal eines jungen Mädchens · Tomb of a Young Girl

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/grabmal-eines-jungen-maedchens. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/grabmal-eines-jungen-maedchens.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Wir gedenkens noch. Das ist, als müßte  
We remember it still. It is as if all
> gedenken governs the genitive: gedenken, 'to remember, to commemorate', takes the genitive case rather than the accusative. gedenkens contracts gedenken and es, giving 'we remember it'. The verb is solemn and formal, often used for honoring the dead.
> A comparison marked as unreal: als combined with the subjunctive müßte, an older spelling of müsste, marks an unreal comparison, close to 'it had to happen again'. It continues into the next line, where its subject appears.

**2** alles dieses einmal wieder sein.  
this had to be once again.

**3** Wie ein Baum an der Limonenküste  
Like a tree on the lemon coast
> A compound naming a fruit coast: Limonenküste joins Limone, 'lemon', with Küste, 'coast', naming a lemon-growing Mediterranean shore. The phrase sets up the simile that follows, comparing the girl to a tree on that coast.

**4** trugst du deine kleinen leichten Brüste  
you bore your small, light breasts
> A strong verb changes its vowel: trugst is the second-person singular past tense of the strong verb tragen, 'to carry, to bear', its stem vowel changing from a to u. It completes a simile begun earlier: as a tree bears fruit, you bore your breasts.

**5** in das Rauschen seines Bluts hinein:  
into the rushing of his blood:
> in plus hinein marks motion inward: in with the accusative das Rauschen means motion into something, and the separable particle hinein, 'into, inward', reinforces that direction. seines Bluts is the genitive of das Blut, 'the blood', naming whose it is.


**6** –jenes Gottes.  
—of that god.
> A genitive held back for emphasis: jenes Gottes is the genitive of jener Gott, 'that god', appearing after a stanza break. It completes seines Bluts from the line before, so the two together read 'of that god's blood', with the owner named only now.

**7** Und es war der schlanke  
And it was the slender

**8** Flüchtling, der Verwöhnende der Fraun.  
fugitive, the indulger of women.
> A participle turned into a noun: verwöhnen means 'to spoil, to indulge'. Its present participle verwöhnend is used here as a noun, der Verwöhnende, 'the one who indulges'. der Fraun is a poetic genitive plural of der Frauen, 'of women'.

**9** Süß und glühend, warm wie dein Gedanke,  
Sweet and glowing, warm as your thought,
> A present participle used as adjective: glühend is the present participle of glühen, 'to glow, to burn', used here as an adjective meaning 'glowing, burning'. It is paired with süß, 'sweet', and warm to describe the god.

**10** überschattend deine frühe Flanke  
overshadowing your early flank,
> A participle governing the accusative: überschattend is the present participle of überschatten, 'to overshadow'. Used as an adjective, it governs the accusative deine frühe Flanke, 'your early flank'. The participle form keeps the action ongoing rather than finished.

**11** und geneigt wie deine Augenbraun.  
and inclined like your eyebrows.
> A participle with two meanings: geneigt is the past participle of neigen, 'to incline, to bend', used as an adjective meaning 'inclined, leaning'. It can describe a physical curve, like an eyebrow, or a favorable disposition toward someone. Augenbraun is a poetic form of Augenbrauen, 'eyebrows'.

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Source text: public domain (Rainer Maria Rilke, died 1926; Neue Gedichte published 1907 and 1908), from Wikisource. English translation and notes: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC. Narration: synthesized for this edition.