“It was dark, the moon was shining bright” – a German poem
There is a German poem called “Dunkel war’s, der Mond schien helle“, in which the first line has been dedicated to the Moon and which boasts special features. For one thing, nobody knows who wrote the poem, which is quite unusual coming from the “land of poets and thinkers”. For another thing, it is based on the principle of the “oxymoron”. This is a figure of speech that juxtaposes elements that are contradictory or that are created from mutually exclusive terms. Straight away, the first line reveals this principle, because it cannot be “dark” when the Moon is shining “bright”.
Here are the first two verses with the intention of a free translation, where we especially tried to restore the alternate rhyme (please forgive us the lack of poetic meter):
Dunkel war’s, der Mond schien helle,
schneebedeckt die grüne Flur,
als ein Wagen blitzeschnelle,
langsam um die Ecke fuhr.Drinnen saßen stehend Leute,
schweigend ins Gespräch vertieft,
Als ein totgeschoss’ner Hase
Auf der Sandbank Schlittschuh lief.
It was dark, the moon was shining bright,
the green countryside covered with snow,
when a car as fast as light,
drove around the corner – so slow.Standing people were sitting inside a bit,
engrossed in silent conversation,
when a shot dead hare or rabbit,
ice skated on a sand bank with caution.[…]
Maybe someone knows an “oxymoron” from an English poem and can add it to our comment section below? The Moon will certainly read it with a big grin, if he can find his glasses …
Thanks for sharing…( 2 dead men git up to fight ) … a great trip down memory lane with a few chuckles in between… I heard that poem as a child!!!
Just for fun…
The Moon was waning
Fading away faiding away
The stars grew brighter without complaining
It’s just a game they play.
Inside the candle waxing
Hid bubbles of gum
All the people were relaxing
Whispering hum, whispering hum
I remember one the Kids used to say about two dead men came out to fight,back to back they faced each other etc. , wish I could remember the whole verse
One bright day in the middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight. Back to back they faced each other through their swords and shot one another a deaf policeman, heard the noise and ran to stop the two dead boys. If you don’t believe my story, if you don’t believe it’s true, ask the blind man Dash he saw it too. !!!!
I came here to quote that one! You beat me to it!
🙂
Happy Third Quarter moon! 🙂 This is a famous “oxymoron” ditty which my father often recited:
Ladies and Gentlemen, skinny and stout,
I’ll tell you a tale I know nothing about;
The Admission is free, so pay at the door,
Now pull up a chair and sit on the floor.
One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight;
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
A blind man came to watch fair play,
A mute man came to shout “Horray!”
A deaf policeman heard the noise and
Came to stop those two dead boys.
He lived on the corner in the middle of the block,
In a two-story house on a vacant lot;
A man with no legs came walking by,
and kicked the lawman in his thigh.
He crashed through a wall without making a sound,
into a dry creek bed and suddenly drowned;
The long black hearse came to cart him away,
But he ran for his life and is still gone today.
I watched from the corner of the big round table,
The only eyewitness to facts of my fable;
But if you doubt my lies are true,
Just ask the blind man, she saw it too.
-Anonymous
This is great!!! Thank you! 🙂