Detlev von Liliencron

import AnnotatedText from ‘@site/src/components/AnnotatedText’;

Sommernacht

<AnnotatedText text={[An ferne Berge:on faraway mountains] [schlug:hit] [die Donner:the thunder][keulen:maces, clubs] [Ein rasch:a fast] [verrauschtes:noisy] [Nachmittag:afternoon][gewitter:thunderstorm]. [Die Bauern:the farmers] [zogen:pulled] [heim:home] [auf müden Gäulen:on tired horses/nags], [Und singend:and singing] [kehrten:turned (back)] [Winzervolk:vintners] [und:and] [Schnitter:reapers]. [Auf allen Dächern:on every roof] [qualmten:rose] [blaue:blue] [Säulen:columns] [Genügsam:equally] [himmelan:towards heaven], [ein luftig Gitter:an airy lattice]. [Nun ist es Nacht:now it is night], [es geistern:they move about like ghosts] [schon:already] [die Eulen:the owls], [Einsam:alone] [aus einer Laube:from a balcony] [klingt:sounds] [die Zither:the zither].} />

This poem is easy to understand but difficult to translate. The very first sentence is fairly complex. As a poem, you can feel the meanings behind the core words, but when you analyze the grammar, it becomes confusing. “Afternoon thunderstorm” is