A Mysterious Epigraph in German
Unusual for Merrill, the poem bears a mysterious four-line epigraph in German, which is printed without translation or attribution:
- Diese Tage, die leer dir scheinen
- und wertlos für das All,
- haben Wurzeln zwischen den Steinen
- und trinken dort überall.
In James Merrill's own English version of this epigraph (published in 1985 in Late Settings), these four lines are translated into English as follows:
- These days which, like yourself,
- Seem empty and effaced
- Have avid roots that delve
- To work deep in the waste.
Read more about this topic: Lost In Translation (poem)
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