Georg Trakl (3 February 1887, Salzburg – 3 November 1914, Kraków) was an Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists.

Quotes

  • Nur dem, der Glück verachtet, wird Erkenntnis.
    • Knowledge comes only to those who despise happiness.
      • Nachlass und Biographie: Gedichte, Briefe, Bilder, Essays‎ (Author: Georg Trakl; editor: Wolfgang Schneditz; publisher: O. Müller, 1949, p. 8)
  • Man wird immer ärmer, je reicher man wird.
    • One becomes ever poorer, the richer he gets.
      • Letter to Erhard Buschbeck, July 1910
  • The murderer smiles palely in wine,
    Death's horror grips the sick.
    Excoriated and naked, the nun prays
    Before the Savior's agony on the cross.

    The mother sings quietly in sleep.
    Peacefully the child looks into the night
    With eyes that are completely truthful.
    In the whorehouse laughter rings.

    By candlelight down in the cellar hole
    The dead one paints with white hand
    A grinning silence on the wall.
    The sleeper whispers still.
    • "Romance in the Night"
  • In the evening you hear the scream of bats,
Two black horses jump in the meadow,
The red maple rustles.
To the traveller the small inn appears by the wayside.
Wonderful the taste of young wine and nuts,
Wonderful: stumbling drunk into darkening wood.
Through black branches painful bells sound,
On the face dew drips.
  • "Towards Evening My Heart," Poems (1913)[1]
  • The black snow that runs from the rooftops;
A red finger dips into your forehead
Blue flakes sink into the bare room,
These are the dead mirrors of lovers.
  • "Delirium" (1913) [2]
This article is issued from Wikiquote. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.