# Schlaflied · Lullaby

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

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

**1** Einmal, wenn ich dich verlier,  
One day, when I lose you,
> Someday, not literally once: einmal literally means 'one time', but at the head of a clause about the future it carries the sense 'someday, at some point'. The whole poem hangs on this single uncertain future day.
> Clipped form for the rhyme: The verb is verlieren, 'to lose'; the regular first-person form is verliere. Rilke drops the final -e to verlier for the rhyme with dir and the meter, a common poetic license in German verse.

**2** wirst du schlafen können, ohne  
will you be able to sleep, without
> Future tense with a modal: wirst ... schlafen können is the future: werden, here wirst, 'you will', plus two infinitives held to the end of the clause, schlafen können, 'be able to sleep'. German pushes both infinitives to the close of the clause.

**3** daß ich wie eine Lindenkrone  
that I, like the crown of a linden tree,
> The canopy of a linden: Lindenkrone compounds Linde, 'lime, linden tree', and Krone, 'crown', here the leafy top of a tree. The linden is a fixture of German lyric poetry, and the speaker imagines being held over the sleeper like its murmuring crown.

**4** mich verflüstre über dir?  
whisper myself away above you?
> A coined reflexive verb: verflüstre comes from flüstern, 'to whisper', with the prefix ver-, suggesting a whispering-away or whispering-into-nothing, used reflexively as mich verflüstern. It is Rilke's invention: the speaker dissolves into a hush above the beloved.
> Dative marks position, not motion: über takes the dative when it marks a static location, 'above you', and the accusative for motion toward. The dative dir here fixes the speaker overhead rather than moving.


**5** Ohne daß ich hier wache und  
Without my keeping watch here and
> Without, plus subordinate that: ohne daß introduces a subordinate clause meaning 'without ... -ing', sending the finite verb, here wache, to the end of the clause. daß is the old spelling of modern dass, kept exactly as Rilke printed it.

**6** Worte, beinah wie Augenlider,  
lay words, almost like eyelids,
> Eyelids, a compound noun: Augenlider is the plural of Augenlid, a compound of Auge, 'eye', and Lid, 'lid'. The simile compares spoken words to eyelids, something soft that closes gently over the body.

**7** auf deine Brüste, auf deine Glieder  
upon your breast, upon your limbs,
> Auf plus accusative, motion onto: auf takes the accusative when there is motion onto a surface, which is why deine Brüste and deine Glieder are accusative here rather than dative. The words are being laid down onto the body, completed by the verb in the next line.

**8** niederlege, auf deinen Mund?  
down upon your mouth?
> Separable verb closes the clause: niederlegen, 'to lay down', is a separable-prefix verb. Held back to the end of the ohne daß clause, its main verb governs everything since Worte two lines up: 'lay words ... down upon your mouth'.


**9** Ohne daß ich dich verschließ  
Without my shutting you in
> To lock, seal up: verschließen means to close off, lock, or seal. The final -e is again clipped from verschließe for the rhyme with Sternanis, turning the sleeper into something kept and enclosed, like a walled garden.

**10** und dich allein mit Deinem lasse,  
and leaving you alone with what is yours,
> Possessive standing alone: Deinem is the possessive dein, 'your', standing alone in the dative after mit, with no noun: 'with what is yours, with your own self'. The capital D, as Rilke prints it, gives the word extra weight.

**11** wie einen Garten mit einer Masse  
like a garden with a profusion

**12** von Melissen und Sternanis?  
of lemon balm and star anise?
> Two fragrant, calming herbs: Melisse is lemon balm, Melissen its plural, and Sternanis is star anise, both fragrant, faintly calming plants. The poem ends on their scent, the beloved imagined as a closed garden heavy with these herbs.

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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.