# Klage um Jonathan · Lament for Jonathan

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems: The Other Part

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/klage-um-jonathan. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/klage-um-jonathan.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Ach, sind auch Könige nicht von Bestand  
Ah, even kings are not enduring
> Fixed phrase for lasting: Von Bestand sein is a fixed phrase meaning 'to be lasting, to be permanent'. Der Bestand means endurance or continued existence, so nicht von Bestand means 'not enduring, not made to last'. Auch here means 'even', as in 'even kings'.

**2** und dürfen hingehn wie gemeine Dinge,  
and may pass away like common things,
> A euphemism for dying: Hingehen literally means 'to go away, to go off', but here it is a gentle euphemism meaning 'to pass away, to die'. Gemein in this line carries its older sense of 'common, ordinary', not the modern sense of 'mean, vile'.

**3** obwohl ihr Druck wie der der Siegelringe  
though their imprint, like that of signet rings,
> Doubled der, pronoun plus article: The repeated der der is not a mistake. The first der stands in for der Druck, 'the imprint', meaning 'that of'. The second der is the genitive plural article of die Siegelringe, 'the signet rings'. So wie der der Siegelringe means 'like that of the signet rings'.

**4** sich widerbildet in das weiche Land.  
presses its likeness into the soft earth.
> A coined reflexive verb: Sich widerbilden is built from bilden, 'to form', with the prefix wider-, 'counter, again', meaning to leave a reverse impression, as a seal does in wax. In das weiche Land takes the accusative because in marks motion into something here.


**5** Wie aber konntest du, so angefangen  
But how could you, so begun
> Participle used as an adjective: Angefangen is the past participle of anfangen, 'to begin', a separable verb from an and fangen. Detached from an auxiliary, it works as an adjective here, meaning 'so begun', that is, 'having been started in such a way'. The next line completes the thought.

**6** mit deines Herzens Initial,  
with your heart's initial,
> Genitive placed before its noun: Deines Herzens Initial places the genitive deines Herzens before the noun it modifies, an older, poetic word order. In plain prose it would read das Initial deines Herzens, 'the initial of your heart'. Deines is the genitive of dein, 'your', agreeing with Herzens.

**7** aufhören plötzlich: Wärme meiner Wangen.  
break off so suddenly: warmth of my cheeks.
> Meaning to stop or cease: Aufhören means 'to stop, to cease, to leave off'. It completes the clause begun two lines earlier, konntest du aufhören plötzlich, 'how could you suddenly cease'. Wärme meiner Wangen, 'warmth of my cheeks', is a separate phrase of address.

**8** O daß dich einer noch einmal  
Oh that someone would beget you
> A wish clause with subjunctive: O daß introduces a wish with a past subjunctive verb, erzeugte, in the following line: 'oh, if only someone would beget you once more'. The verb is held back to the next line, so the sentence runs on past the line break.

**9** erzeugte, wenn sein Samen in ihm glänzt.  
once more, while his seed shines bright in him.


**10** Irgendein Fremder sollte dich zerstören,  
That some stranger should be the one to destroy you,
> Sollen expressing protest: Sollte, the past of sollen, does not mean a polite 'should' here. It expresses 'that it should be so', a protest that irgendein Fremder, 'just any stranger', was the one dich zu zerstören, 'to destroy you'.

**11** und der dir innig war, ist nichts dabei  
and he who was dear to you counts for nothing,
> Meaning intimate or dear: Innig means 'intimate, heartfelt, deeply bonded'. Der dir innig war, 'the one who was intimately close to you', is a relative clause with dative dir. Nichts dabei sein means 'to be nothing in it, to have no part'.

**12** und muß sich halten und die Botschaft hören;  
and must hold himself together and hear the news;
> Reflexive verb for composure: Sich halten here means 'to keep one's composure, to hold oneself together', using the reflexive pronoun sich. Die Botschaft means 'the message, the tidings', the report the speaker has to stand and hear.

**13** wie wunde Tiere auf den Lagern löhren,  
as wounded animals bellow on their beds,
> A rare dialect verb: Löhren, also spelled lären, is a rare regional verb for the loud, bellowing cry of an animal in pain. Das Lager here means an animal's resting place or lair, plural die Lager. The line compares the speaker's own cry to this sound.

**14** möcht ich mich legen mit Geschrei:  
so would I lay myself down with a cry:
> Verb-first clause with a wish: Möcht ich mich legen means 'I would like to lay myself down'. Möchte, shortened to möcht, is the verb of wishing and stands first in the clause. Sich legen is reflexive, 'to lie down'. Das Geschrei means 'shouting, screaming'.


**15** denn da und da, an meinen scheusten Orten,  
for here and here, in my most private places,
> Superlative of scheu: Scheusten is the superlative of scheu, 'shy, bashful'. An meinen scheusten Orten means 'at my most private places', dative plural after an. Da und da means 'here and here', pointing without naming the places directly.

**16** bist du mir ausgerissen wie das Haar,  
you have been torn out of me like the hair
> Separable verb with a dative: Ausreißen, 'to tear out', is a separable verb; in the perfect tense it forms bist ausgerissen, 'have been torn out'. The dative mir marks the person affected by the loss, so bist du mir ausgerissen means 'you have been torn out of me'.

**17** das in den Achselhöhlen wächst und dorten,  
that grows in the armpits, and there,
> Older form of dort: Dorten is an archaic or dialectal form of dort, 'there', with an added -en for the meter. Die Achselhöhle means 'the armpit', literally 'the hollow of the shoulder', and appears here in the dative plural, den Achselhöhlen.

**18** wo ich ein Spiel für Frauen war,  
where I was a plaything for women,


**19** bevor du meine dort verfitzten Sinne  
before you untangled my senses, snarled there,
> Subordinating conjunction delaying the verb: Bevor means 'before' and is a subordinating conjunction, so its verb, aufsträhntest, is held to the end of the clause in the next line. Verfitzt means 'tangled, matted, snarled', describing meine Sinne, 'my senses'.

**20** aufsträhntest, wie man einen Knaul entflicht;  
as one unravels a tangled ball of yarn;
> A rare verb for untangling: Aufsträhnen is a rare verb meaning to comb something out into Strähnen, 'strands', that is, to disentangle. Der Knaul, now usually spelled Knäuel, means 'a tangled ball of thread'. Entflicht, from entflechten, means 'unravels, unbraids'.

**21** da sah ich auf und wurde deiner inne:–  
then I looked up and grew aware of you:—
> Fixed phrase taking the genitive: Einer Sache inne werden means 'to become aware of, to grow conscious of', and it governs the genitive, giving deiner, 'of you', the genitive of du. Aufsehen, 'to look up', is separable, appearing here split as sah auf.

**22** jetzt aber gehst du mir aus dem Gesicht.  
but now you go out of my sight.
> Idiom for passing from sight: Jemandem aus dem Gesicht gehen means 'to pass out of someone's sight'. Das Gesicht means both 'face' and, in this idiom, 'sight'. The dative mir marks the person from whose view someone disappears, giving 'you go out of my sight'.

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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.