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Butterfly

Nelly Sachs 1891 (Schöneberg) – 1970 (Stockholm)

What lovely aftermath
is painted in your dust.
You were led through the flaming
core of the earth,
through its stony shell,
webs of farewell in the transient measure.

Butterfly
blessed night of all beings!
The weights of life and death
sink down with your wings
on the rose
which wanders with the light ripening homewards.

What lovely aftermath
is painted in your dust.
What royal sign
in the secret of the air.
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Submitted by acronimous on December 10, 2018

Modified on May 03, 2023

21 sec read
472

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABxxxx xcxcxc ABxx
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 396
Words 73
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 4
Full analysis for Butterfly »

Nelly Sachs

Nelly Sachs was a Jewish German-Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokeswoman for the grief and yearnings of her fellow Jews. more…

All Nelly Sachs poems | Nelly Sachs Books

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