# Papageienpark · Parrot Park

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

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/papageienpark. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/rilke/papageienpark.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/rilke/<line id>.m4a.

**1** Unter türkischen Linden, die blühen, an Rasenrändern,  
Under Turkish lindens, which are in bloom, at the lawn's edges,
> A compound for the lawn's edge: Rasenrändern joins Rasen, 'lawn', and Rand, 'edge', dative plural after an, 'at, along'. The line sets a manicured park, clipped grass and flowering ornamental limes, before the caged parrots appear at its trimmed margins.

**2** in leise von ihrem Heimweh geschaukelten Ständern  
in stands gently rocked by their homesickness,
> A whole clause before the noun: German can stack a clause in front of a noun as one long adjective. leise von ihrem Heimweh geschaukelten, 'gently rocked by their homesickness', is a past participle placed before Ständern, 'stands, perches'.

**3** atmen die Ära und wissen von ihren Ländern,  
the macaws breathe and know of their own lands,
> Ära names the macaw, not an age: Here Ära is Rilke's spelling of Ara, the macaw, the large parrot of South and Central America, not the ordinary word 'era'. The macaws breathe and remember their own Ländern, 'lands'.
> Wissen von means to know of: wissen with von plus the dative means 'to know of, be aware of' something, carrying an awareness of it rather than simply remembering. von ihren Ländern means 'of their lands'.

**4** die sich, auch wenn sie nicht hinsehn, nicht verändern.  
which, even when they do not look over, do not change.
> Separable verb pointing away: hinsehen, 'to look over there', joins sehen, 'to see', with the directional prefix hin-, which points away from the speaker; here clipped to hinsehn for the meter. auch wenn sie nicht hinsehn means 'even when they do not look over'.


**5** Fremd im beschäftigten Grünen wie eine Parade,  
Strange in the busy green like a parade,
> A noun made from an adjective: das Grüne is grün, 'green', turned into a noun, 'the greenery'; im Grünen is a set phrase for 'out in nature'. beschäftigt means 'busy, occupied', personifying the park's greenery. fremd means 'foreign, out of place'.

**6** zieren sie sich und fühlen sich selber zu schade,  
they put on airs and feel themselves too good,
> A reflexive idiom for preening: sich zieren means 'to act coy, make a show of reluctance, preen'. sich selber zu schade sein means 'to consider oneself too good for something'. Together the phrase describes the macaws preening and holding themselves precious.

**7** und mit den kostbaren Schnäbeln aus Jaspis und Jade  
and with their precious beaks of jasper and jade
> Two names for semi-precious stone: Jaspis and Jade are jasper and jade, semi-precious stones; aus gives the material, 'made of'. kostbar means 'precious, costly'. The beaks are rendered as carved gemstone, set against the grey stuff chewed in the next line.

**8** kauen sie Graues, verschleudern es, finden es fade.  
they chew grey stuff, squander it, find it bland.
> A color adjective made a noun: Graues is grau, 'grey', turned into a noun, 'grey stuff, something grey', capitalized, neuter, with no article. It is the accusative object of kauen, 'to chew', picked up again by es, 'it', in the following clauses.
> A verb for careless waste: verschleudern means 'to squander, fling away, sell off cheaply', to discard something as though worthless. fade means 'insipid, bland, tasteless'. The verbs pile up the macaws' bored disdain for the food.


**9** Unten klauben die duffen Tauben, was sie nicht mögen,  
Below, the drab pigeons pick over what they do not like,
> Dialect word plus a picking verb: duff is a dialect word for 'dull, lustreless, matt', describing the grey pigeons against the bright macaws. klauben means 'to pick out, gather piece by piece', as one gathers scattered grain.

**10** während sich oben die höhnischen Vögel verbeugen  
while above the scornful birds bow,
> Während sends the verb last: während, 'while', is a subordinating conjunction, so its clause puts the finite verb last, verbeugen, 'to bow'. The reflexive sich sits early, and the subject die höhnischen Vögel follows the adverb oben, 'above'.

**11** zwischen den beiden fast leeren vergeudeten Trögen.  
between the two near-empty, wasted troughs.
> A trough, and a word for wasted: der Trog means 'trough, feeding tub', dative plural Trögen after zwischen, 'between'. vergeudet is the past participle of vergeuden, 'to waste, fritter away', used as an adjective. The troughs stand nearly empty and squandered.


**12** Aber dann wiegen sie wieder und schläfern und äugen,  
But then they sway again and drowse and peer,
> Three verbs of half sleep: wiegen means 'to rock, sway, cradle'; schläfern means 'to grow sleepy', related to schlafen, 'to sleep'; äugen, a hunter's word from Auge, 'eye', means 'to peer, watch keenly'. The macaws rock and doze while staying watchful.

**13** spielen mit dunkelen Zungen, die gerne lögen,  
play with dark tongues that would gladly lie,
> Subjunctive of lügen, to lie: lögen is Konjunktiv II, past subjunctive, of lügen, 'to lie, tell untruths'; note the umlaut, where the indicative logen becomes subjunctive lögen. With gerne, 'gladly', it expresses a wish, 'tongues that would gladly lie'.

**14** zerstreut an den Fußfesselringen. Warten auf Zeugen.  
distracted at the leg-shackle rings. Waiting for witnesses.
> A triple compound for a leg chain: Fußfesselringen stacks Fuß, 'foot', Fessel, 'shackle', and Ring, 'ring': the metal ring chaining a bird's leg to its perch, dative plural after an, 'at'. zerstreut means 'distracted, absent-minded'.

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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.