27 July 2019: "Heimkebr" by Heinrich Heine

I'm reading Anna Karenina. A character quoted the below poem. I'm not sure if it is a except or the full poem. When I googled the text from my phone i didn't find anything. I'll search again later from my computer.

It is heavenly when i mastered
My earthly desire;
But whenever i did not succeed
I still took my pleasure.

Heine's Nacheles Zur "Heimkebr," 9

2 comments:

  1. heaven to earth
    sky to ground
    ethereal to physical
    acceptance of the human tendency
    with a faith of the great mystery of more...

    I have quite honestly been stuck between these worlds lately. A purgatory of sorts within the every day life of making a living and the world of meditation, poetry and bliss...this poem is so surreal. I will keep reading it in reminder of the "gap"...that we all experience.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's a trip to read. "It is... when I mastered... But... I did... I still took."

      The "is," present tense, is all wrong. This cannot be a translation error. This implies that heavenly is always present. That is comforting and maybe allows taking our pleasure, knowing that our previous mastered desires will and are with us.

      I already forget the context of the poem in the novel. One character recited it to another, and that's all I can recall.

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