Photo by Bruce Donehower
“Du, mein Freund, bist einsam… ” (“You, my friend, are lonely… ”)
A Sonnet for a Dog
In 1921 Rilke moved into the tower at Muzot. In the coming weeks of winter 1922, he completed the Duino Elegies and wrote the Sonnets to Orpheus: two poetic masterpieces of the twentieth century.
In the autumn, a neighbor thought that the poet might like to have a dog to keep him company.
Rilke declined the offer.
I don’t know what happened to the pooch.
In this performance video, Marion recites in German. My translation of the German appears in captions as Marion speaks. I wrote the music to express my understanding of the poem. Translation © Bruce Donehower, 2021.