A dawn of new times

Do you see the light on the horizon?
Through all the gloom and all those clouds,
a tender ray of hope breaks through -
can’t you feel that spring is coming?

As deep as this winter seems to be,
its darkness milked from our blackish sorrow,
still - a gentle string of hope remains,
uniting you and me with others.

However violently this sadness
tears at our hearts with its claws,
biting into our souls with its teeth;
it will not remain this way for all eternity.

No matter what has been and what is yet to come,
today we are setting out for better times,
letting ourselves be guided by our love
and facing each new day with it.

#TranslationThursday #translation #poetry #poetryisnotdead #weltschmerz #darktimes #hope

Translation of my poem 'Aufbruch zu neuen Zeiten' from yesterday. Self-translated. Tried to capture the essence of the feeling.

Dark times

We wander in darkness alone,
surrounded only by gloom,
as we encounter each other,
we feel the deep rift between us.

Nothing but fear and anger surround us -
penetrating, squashing, tormenting us,
almost suffocating our last bit of courage,
and leaving us barely unable
to choose anything lighthearted anymore.

Neither light, nor a drop of hope left,
and yet we do not give up.
We long for a new tomorrow, full of solace,
while looking up at the stars.

With tears of anticipation on our faces,
with love songs on our lips.
For this darkness cannot break us,
nor can it void our yearning for peace.

Feel the lightlessness,
and the depth of the gloom,
meet your friends' hands
through the dusk,
trust in our togetherness with each other,
and all the walls will fall.

#TranslationThursday #translation #poetry #poetryisnotdead #weltschmerz #darktimes #hope

Translation of my poem 'Düstere Zeiten' from yesterday. Self-translated. Tried to capture the essence of the feeling.

Patricia Kopatchinskaja, just played Bartok's (2nd) violin concerto of 1938.
She then said (something like)
Bartok was faced with very dark times when he wrote his concerto. I don't think we have learned the lessons of those times.

#DarkTimes #fascism

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_three

Sunday, January 4, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/01/sunday-january-4-2026/