Landscape by Stefan Zweig

translated by William Ruleman (April 2014)

Night. And seeds, in slumber, breathe

Hot and sense-benumbing scents,

And silver mists arise and seethe:

Laments of an air still, sultry, tense.

Far off, the glare of a thunderstorm

Threatens on the horizon. Soon . . .

Clouds circle birds in a frightened swarm,

Joined by a glowing sallow moon.

And thunder groans as if in pain,

Beckons to the expectant land,

And strokes ripe, rustling ears of grain

With sudden, ominous, silencing hand.

_____________________

William Ruleman's renderings of two of Zweig’s early novellas, as well as selected stories, were published in 2010 by Ariadne Press, while Ruleman’s translation of his later story “Die Frau und die Landschaft” is due to appear in the spring issue of the British journal Tears in the Fence. Aside from Zweig, he enjoys working with other poets of the German language, the results being featured most recently in The Deronda Review, AALitra Review, The Sonnet Scroll, The Recusant, The Galway Review, and Atavic Poetry. He teaches creative writing and literature at Tennessee Wesleyan College, where he is Professor of English.

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