On the Death of an Old Woman

Georg Trakl 1887 (Salzburg) – 1914 (Kraków)



Often I listen full of horror at the door

And when I arrive it seems to me that someone fled,

And her eyes see past me

Dreamily, as if they would see me elsewhere.

Thus she sits completely stooped in herself and listens

And seems far-off from the things around her,

However, she trembles when noise rushes at the window,

And then cries still, just like an anxious child.

And caresses her white hair with tired hand

And asks with paled glance: Must I go already?

And has a crazy fever: The little light in the altar

Went out! Where do you go? What has happened?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
104

Quick analysis:

Scheme X X A X X B X X X A B X
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 557
Words 108
Stanzas 12
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

Georg Trakl

Georg Trakl was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. more…

All Georg Trakl poems | Georg Trakl Books

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