# Pietà · Pietà

Neue Gedichte · Rainer Maria Rilke · New Poems

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

**1** So seh ich, Jesus, deine Füße wieder,  
So I see your feet again, Jesus,
> Verb second after an adverb: German is a verb second language: when a sentence opens with an adverb like so, 'thus, in this way', the finite verb still must stand second, pushing the subject after it. So seh ich means 'thus I see'. Seh is the poetic spelling of sehe.

**2** O die damals eines Jünglings Füße waren,  
O the feet that once were a young man's feet,
> A genitive noun phrase: Eines Jünglings is the genitive of ein Jüngling, 'a youth, a young man', placed before the noun it modifies: 'a young man's feet'. Die … waren is a relative clause, with die pointing back to deine Füße in the line before.

**3** da ich sie bang entkleidete und wusch;  
when, trembling, I bared and washed them;
> When, not there: Here da is a temporal conjunction meaning 'when, at the time that', not the more common 'there' or 'since'. It opens a subordinate clause, so the finite verbs entkleidete and wusch fall to the end. Bang is an adverb, 'fearfully, anxiously'.
> To undress, uncover: Entkleiden means 'to undress, to bare, to strip of covering'; the prefix ent- marks removal. Here it describes uncovering the feet before washing them.

**4** wie standen sie verwirrt in meinen Haaren  
how they stood bewildered in my hair

**5** und wie ein weißes Wild im Dornenbusch.  
and like a white deer in the thornbush.
> A collective noun for game: Das Wild is a collective noun for game or wild animals, used here for a single creature: 'a wild beast, a deer'. Im Dornenbusch means 'in the thornbush'.


**6** So seh ich deine niegeliebten Glieder  
So I see your never-loved limbs
> A coined compound adjective: Rilke fuses nie, 'never', and geliebt, 'loved', into one adjective, niegeliebt, 'never loved', declined here as niegeliebten. Die Glieder are the 'limbs, members' of the body.

**7** zum erstenmal in dieser Liebesnacht.  
for the first time in this night of love.
> For the first time: Zum erstenmal, modern zum ersten Mal, is the fixed phrase 'for the first time'. Die Liebesnacht literally means 'love night', a night of love.

**8** Wir legten uns noch nie zusammen nieder,  
We never yet lay down together,
> Separable reflexive verb: Sich niederlegen means 'to lie down'. It is separable: the prefix nieder splits off and goes to the end of the clause, giving legten uns … nieder around noch nie zusammen, 'never yet together'. Uns is the reflexive object.

**9** und nun wird nur bewundert und gewacht.  
and now there is only marvelling and keeping watch.
> Impersonal passive, no subject: Wird bewundert und gewacht is an impersonal passive with no subject, only the action named: 'there is marveling and watching'. Bewundern means 'to admire, to marvel at'; wachen means 'to keep watch, hold vigil'.


**10** Doch, siehe, deine Hände sind zerrissen–:  
Yet, look, your hands are torn open—:
> Doch and the old imperative siehe: Doch marks a turn, 'yet, but'. Siehe is the old imperative of sehen, 'behold, look', more solemn than the everyday sieh. Zerrissen is the past participle of zerreißen, 'to tear apart'.

**11** Geliebter, nicht von mir, von meinen Bissen.  
Beloved, not by me, not by my bites.
> Von marking the agent: After a passive, sind zerrissen, von plus the dative names the agent, 'by'. Der Biss is 'a bite', from beißen, 'to bite'. Von mir, von meinen Bissen means 'by me, by my bites'.

**12** Dein Herz steht offen, und man kann hinein:  
Your heart stands open, and one can go in:
> Man with directional hinein: Man is the impersonal pronoun, 'one, anyone'. Hinein means 'into there', motion away from the speaker; a verb of motion such as gehen is understood, so man kann hinein means 'one can go in'.

**13** das hätte dürfen nur mein Eingang sein.  
that should have been only my way in.
> Unreal past with double infinitive: Das hätte … sein dürfen is the subjunctive of unreal regret: 'that ought to have been allowed to be'. With the modal dürfen, 'to be permitted', the perfect uses a double infinitive instead of a participle, giving the order hätte dürfen … sein. Der Eingang means 'entrance, way in'.


**14** Nun bist du müde, und dein müder Mund  
Now you are weary, and your weary mouth

**15** hat keine Lust zu meinem wehen Munde–.  
has no desire for my aching mouth—.
> Lust haben zu, to desire: Lust haben zu means 'to have a desire or appetite for'. Weh is a poetic adjective, 'sore, aching, full of pain', declined here as wehen in the dative zu meinem wehen Munde, which keeps the old dative ending -e on Munde.

**16** O Jesus, Jesus, wann war unsre Stunde?  
O Jesus, Jesus, when was our hour?
> Our hour, our moment: Unsre is the contracted poetic form of unsere, 'our'. Die Stunde literally means 'hour', but idiomatically it can mean one's appointed time or moment.

**17** Wie gehn wir beide wunderlich zugrund.  
How strangely we two go to our ruin.
> To perish, come to ruin: Zugrunde gehen, spelled here zugrund without the final e, and gehn for gehen, means 'to perish, to be ruined, to come to nothing'. Wunderlich means 'strange, odd, uncanny', not 'wonderful'.

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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.