Ein Thema: Weichsel; blutsüßes Erinnern!
Der Strom bei Kulm verwildert in dem Bett.
Ein Mädchen, läuft mein Segel aufs Parkett
Aus Wellen, glänzend, unabsehbar, zinnern.
In Obertertia. Julitage flammen,
Bis du den Leib in helle Wellen scharrst.
Die Otter floh; mein weißes Lachen barst
Zwischen den Weiden, wo die Strudel schwammen.
Russische Flöße in den Abend ragend.
Die fremden Weiber, die am Feuer sitzen,
Bewirten mich: Schnaps und gestohlener Speck.
Wir ankern und die Alten bleiben weg.
Die Völlerei. Aus grausamen Antlitzen
Blitzt unser Blick, ins Weiberlachen schlagend.
JP JP 3
Erstveröffentlichung:
„Junge Pferde! Junge Pferde!“ (1914)
Erläuterungen:
Kulm. Stadt an der Weichsel in der Nähe des Geburtsorts von Paul Boldt
The Vistula
A theme: this River; blood-sweet memory!
At Kulm, it goes back to its savage roar.
My sail—a girl—spreads on a parquet floor
Of pewter waves that shine immeasurably.
My fifteenth year. July bursts into flames
Of hell-bright waves, in which your body’s immersed.
The viper’s flown; my whitened laughter bursts
Among green fields where currents flowed, untamed.
Some Russian rafts then pierce the end of day.
And unknown women sit by campfires there,
Their schnapps and stolen bacon mine for the taking.
We anchor while the old ones stay away.
We gorge upon each other, but fiercely stare
At this: the sound of women’s laughter breaking.
(Comment: The Vistula is a major river running through
what was the West Prussian countryside of Paul Boldt’s youth.
It is in present-day Poland. And Kulm, mentioned in line two, is
the German name for what is now the Polish city of Chelmno.)
Lyrics by Paul Boldt in English Translation
by Daniel J. Webster