On My Sweetest and Dearest Lord Jesus, at New Year's Time

 Jesus, first among the first, and yet without beginning,

my soul's soul and spring, all nations' bliss and comfort!

May the highest good, your blood, be this year's foundation

of my thoughts and deeds, my goals and my intentions,

that whatever lives in me lives to praise you, O my Lord.

Let no vein pulse in me, except to serve you,

every breath bring praise to our Creator.

I will not let you go, O Jesus, until you are my all.

Although my hateful depths should make you turn from me,

your love, magnificent in faithfulness,

would sooner leave the Father's lap than leave me lost.

O Joy! You gladly left God's glittering heaven for the wretched stable

to end our sin and misery.

You think on us eternally; help us in this time!

Click here to read this sonnet in the original German.

New Year’s Thoughts: when, on Holy New Year’s Day, the moon was in Sagittarius

Greiffenberg's inspiration for this sonnet apparently came from observing the night sky. Sagittarius is one of the constellations of the (western) zodiac; its pictorial emblem is a centaur with a bow and arrow. The reference to the Old Testament story of Gideon comes from Judges 6:36-40.

Strike, oh strike the target in my Fortune's Wheel,

you heavenly inspiration, love-inflamed archer!

My mouth shoots out your praise and honour

like arrows from a bow.

Let no misfortune's wind deflect their flight.

Grant sun-like steadiness to stay on course,

and when the weakened bow of my body breaks,

I won't care as long as I'm resolved in my intent.

O bless now what is new in this New Year.

The devil has prepared a thousand arrows—

screw them into his heart! Instead,

let hosts of grace and help always attend me.

As rain on Gideon's fleece, let blessings fall on me. 

Appear with your new help in this New Year.

Click here to read this sonnet in the original German.

On Holy New Year's Day: The Great Comfort of Jesus' Name

Jesus, be my only comfort, no matter what might be.

If I have you, I have all things: beloved Jesus Christ!

You, my strength and power, indeed my very life.

This year, let me be rooted in your grace, 

and let your great star-counsel prove powerful in deed.

Your grace, our faith, make all things possible.

To you, all human might and craftiness are spider webs.

Speak to my request your powerful word: it will be done!

My hope has bloomed so long: provide, this year,

new fruits of joy and good fortune. What more can I desire

when I possess this gift: your love-ignited blood!

Is anything on earth so costly, sweet and precious?

Dear Jesus-child, let me abide forever in your grace,

no matter what in this whole world might come.

Click here to see this sonnet in the original German.

On Christ's All-holy first shedding of blood, and the sweetest Name of Jesus

In this season of Epiphany, we decided to translate Greiffenberg's sonnets for the new year. This one's title seems to refer to the fact that, in liturgical churches, January 1 traditionally marked the Circumcision of Christ. Although this feast doesn't get much attention these days, it's still in the liturgical calendar, but now it's called The Naming of Jesus. Luke 2:21 says, "And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb" (RSV). 

Lovely morning glow drops crimson pearls

of childhood, and soon the Jesus-sun arises,

in whom God's brightness mingles with love's warmth.

His heart's grace streams from this salvation-light.

Redemption's vein of gold must flow, love-melted.

This wondrous child cries with desire and longing:

Will the hour of salvation ever come, when he

at last pours out his blood, a blessing-flood, for all?

Eternal godhead wrapped in a little cloud: this child.

Just as, from a great distance, the sun

seems small enough to grasp, so he, as God,

fills everything, yet will himself be cradled.

Peace will have no peace until it stills

all human misery, greed, and hate of God.

Click here to read this sonnet in the original German.

A Greiffenberg printing project

Here in Manitoba, winter is just beginning. Greiffenberg was not fond of this season. According to the subject index of Geistliche Sonnette, Lieder und Gedichte, she wrote seventeen poems about spring, but just two about winter: the first equates winter with adversity, the second celebrates winter's departure. 

That second one caught our attention because of its title: "On the Departure (Praise God!) of Winter" ("Auf den/ Gott Lob! vergehenden Winter"). We already knew Greiffenberg as a woman of intense feeling, and that's certainly the case here, where she addresses winter as the destroyer, arch-enemy of all the earth. For her--a poet who saw the world through the lens of her faith--the departure of winter was a clear metaphor for Christ's defeat of death.

When I (Joanne) took a course called The History of the Book at Canadian Mennonite University in the 2020 winter term, I wanted to do something Greiffenberg-related for my creative project. I had already had a taste of letterpress printing and wanted to do more, so I made an illustrated pamphlet with two of Greiffenberg's sonnets. The sonnet on the departure of winter led nicely into one of the spring sonnets. For each one, I printed the original and our translation on facing pages.

The Lino block illustrations are both spring-related: apple blossoms on the cover, and on the inside a phoenix (yes, I know, it looks like an eagle). The latter is a reference to the spring sonnet, in which spring is called the "yearly-renewing phoenix of the earth."

I had to make some compromises on the spelling. The sets of type I was working with were meant for English text, and had none of the umlaut vowels (ä, ö, ü) or the "scharfes S" (ß), so I used anglicized spellings for these (ae, oe, ue for the vowels; ss for ß). 

If you click on a photo below, you'll get a larger image with readable text.

On the Lovely Summer- and Harvest-Time

For this post--our first after a few months' hiatus--we decided to let readers in on our process. Instead of posting the final version of our translation with a link to the original, we'll include all the steps: the original German text, the draft translations by Joanne and Sarah, and then the final version that the three of us developed together.

No two dictionaries are quite alike, and collectively we end up using several in the course of our translating: Cassell's New German Dictionary, the Oxford-Duden German Dictionary, the online Langenscheidt German-English Dictionary, and the Deutsches Wörterbuch by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm.  

Original text:

Auf die liebliche Sommer- und Ernde-Zeit 

O Wunder-Gottes Güt! die in die Erd sich senket.
Sie grünt und prangt hervor/ in Nahrung-reicher Art.
Die Allmacht hat mit ihr sich in die Erd gepaart:
aus deren Würkung Gott/ uns diese Gaben schenket.
bey iedem Sichelschnitt/ ists billig/ daß man denket
an Gottes Gnaden Mäng’ und Lob zum wundern schaart.
So wenig ja den Dank/ als er den Segen/ spaart!
sein Gnaden-Herz sich ganz auf uns zu giessen lenket.

Ein schallends Ehren-Lob soll aus den Halmen gehn/
weil seiner Ehren voll die Erd’/ und was sie träget.

Am Lebens Mastbaum soll der Lobes-Segel stehn:

Der Freuden-Seufzer-Wind ihn lieblich süß beweget.

So sammlet Gottes Lieb/ durch diese Erdenfrücht:

und schüttet dafür aus/ sein Lieb- und Lob-Gerücht!

Sarah's version:

On the Lovely Summer- and Harvest-Time

Oh, Goodness of a wondrous God! It drops into the earth
Where, greening and sprouting, it brings forth nourishment.
Goodness and Omnipotence are joined with soil
And from this union spring God’s gifts of harvest.
At every scythe-cut It is right to remember 
God’s generous grace, and to amazement add our praise.
(Our thanks will be as small as if God spared his blessing!)
His gracious heart bends wholly to our benefit.

Resounding exaltation shall rise from every stalk.
The earth and what she bears is worthy of esteem.
We will fasten our sail of praise to life’s main mast
Where it will sway, sweetly and gently, in wind’s joyful sigh.
Thus God’s love gathers in the fruits of earth,
And thus pours out on us his favour and his love.

Joanne's version:

On the delightful summer and harvest-time

O goodness of our wondrous God, that comes to earth!
It greens and shines forth, rich in nourishment.
Omnipotence has mingled with it in the earth,
from whose working God pours out these gifts to us.
With every sickle-stroke it’s fitting that we think
on God’s abundant grace, gathered in praise and wonder.
Our thanks are so much smaller than his blessings!
Glory-praise shall resound from every stalk
since earth and all it bears is full of his glory.
The praise-sail shall be set on life’s mast,
moved so sweetly by joy-sighing winds.
So God’s love gathers in these fruits of earth,
and spills out fragrance of his love and praise!

Final collaborative version:

On the Lovely Summer- and Harvest-Time

Oh, goodness of a wondrous God! It drops into the earth
which greens and shines, rich in nourishment.
Goodness and omnipotence join within the soil
and from this pairing spring God’s gifts of harvest.
With every sickle-stroke, it’s fitting to remember
God’s abundant grace, and to amazement add our praise.
(Our thanks as scarce as if God spared his blessing.)
He pours His whole heart’s grace on us.

Honor and praise shall resound from every stalk
since earth, and all it bears, is full of God’s glory.
The sail of praise shall be set on life’s main mast
where it will stir sweetly in wind’s joyful sighing.
So, God’s love, gathered in these fruits of earth, 
spreads out His love and praise. 

On the Peaceful Night-Time

This week we post Sarah's translation of "Auf die ruhige Nacht-Zeit," one of Greiffenberg's lyric poems. Swiss composer Klaus Huber (1924-2017) set this poem to music in 1958. You'll find a link to a concert video of this work below the translation. You can also find an audio recording on Apple Music.

1.

Star-spangled throne of Heaven

and you, moon, the night’s crown!

Shine while earth’s orb

conceals from us the sun’s bright rays.

2.

Stillness, the grave of thought!

Set worry and fretting aside

and still, still, still in me

every heart-stirring desire.

3.

Now music in the air

sleeps in the cleft of a hollow tree.

Resting, it does not disturb 

God-hon’ring desire in me.

4.

Sweet nectar of God-given grace

that blesses me while I sleep!

Let fortune’s light and being 

flow and fill me while I’m dreaming.

5.

Shadow, friend of restfulness!

Night—refreshment after labour! 

Let not darkness be so deep

it hides the noble light of heaven.

6.

And you, source of serenity,

Lord of my heart, come near

and be my resting place. Even asleep,

I will keep true watch with you.

7.

Close tight, my eyes, 

be rich in restfulness.

But you, my spirit, stay awake

to praise your God at midnight.

Click here to read this poem in the original German.

Click here to see a concert video of Klaus Huber's musical setting.