German · New Poems

Opfer

Offering

13 lines · 12 notes

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1
O how my body blooms from every vein
OOo · interjectionstands alone (interjection)
wiehowwie · adverbdepends on blüht
blühtbloomsblühen · verb, present, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
meinmymein · determiner, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on Leib
LeibbodyLeib · noun, nominative, masculine, singulardepends on blüht
ausfromaus · prepositiondepends on blüht
jedereveryjeder · determiner, dative, feminine, singulardepends on Ader
AderveinAder · noun, dative, feminine, singulardepends on aus
WordLiving flesh, not the anatomical body Der Leib is the body as living flesh, distinct from the neutral, anatomical der Körper. The speaker chooses this warmer word for a body that blooms. Aus jeder Ader, 'from every vein', is dative governed by aus.
2
more fragrant, since I have come to know you;
WordA verb of knowing Erkennen means 'to recognize, to perceive, to come to know'. Erkenn drops the final -e of erkenne, a poetic contraction of the first-person singular. Seitdem ich dich erkenn means 'since I have come to know you'.
3
look, I walk slimmer now and straighter,
GrammarComparatives without a than clause Schlanker and gerader are comparatives of schlank, 'slim', and gerade, 'straight', formed with the ending -er. Standing without an als clause, they mean 'more so than before'. Sieh is the imperative of sehen, 'to look'.
4
and you only wait — : who are you, then?
GrammarA particle of wonder In this question denn is not the conjunction 'for, because' but a flavoring particle that adds surprise or wonder to a question, close to 'then' in 'who are you, then'. wartest is the second-person present of warten, 'to wait'.
5
Look: I feel how I am drawing away,
GrammarA reflexive verb for drawing away Sich entfernen is a reflexive verb meaning 'to move off, to withdraw, to grow distant'. Mich is the reflexive object of ich. The verb stands at the end of the wie clause, as German subordinate clauses require.
6
how I shed the old, leaf upon leaf.
WordA repeated noun pattern X um X means 'X after X, one X at a time'; here Blatt um Blatt means 'leaf after leaf'. Das Blatt can mean both leaf and page. Altes is the adjective alt used as a neuter noun, 'the old'. Verlier is a poetic clipping of verliere, 'I lose'.
7
Only your smile stands like sheer stars
WordAn indeclinable word for sheer Lauter is indeclinable and means 'sheer, nothing but, all'. Lauter Sterne means 'nothing but stars'. It should not be confused with laut, 'loud', or the comparative lauter, 'louder'.
8
above you, and soon above me too.
9
All that through my childhood years
GrammarDurch governs the accusative Durch, 'through', always takes the accusative case, here meine Kinderjahre, 'my childhood years'. The clause alles, was, 'all that', opens a long sentence whose main verb does not arrive until several lines later.
10
still nameless and gleams like water,
WordThe suffix los marks absence Namenlos combines Name, 'name', with the suffix -los, 'lacking', giving 'nameless, unnamed'. This suffix forms other adjectives of lack, such as hilflos, 'helpless'. Wie Wasser glänzt means 'gleams like water'.
11
I will name after you at the altar,
GrammarNaming someone after someone Jemanden nach jemandem nennen means 'to name someone after someone'; nach with the dative dir marks the namesake. Will ich nennen is the long-delayed main clause of a sentence begun earlier. Am Altäre is an older dative form of der Altar, 'the altar'.
12
the altar kindled by your hair
WordTo kindle or set alight Entzünden means 'to kindle, to set alight, to inflame'. Der entzündet ist is a relative clause whose der points back to Altäre, 'altar'. Von deinem Haare, 'by your hair', is an archaic dative of das Haar naming the agent.
13
and lightly wreathed with your breasts.
WordTo wreathe with something Bekränzen means 'to wreathe, to garland', from der Kranz, 'wreath'. Mit, with the dative deinen Brüsten, names what the wreath is made of. Bekränzt is the past participle, coordinated here with entzündet.

The particulars

The text: Neue Gedichte, Rainer Maria Rilke. New Poems.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
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