ROT and Vers la Lune et retour: Poetry in German and French

Nelly Reckinger

About the Author

Nelly Reckinger is a rising junior at the ALR-High School in Luxembourg. She pursues a STEM-track at high school. She plans on studying medicine. Since childhood, she has loved to write and to read, initially mostly in German and French. Then, she learned English two years ago and fell in love with poetry and literature. She enjoys playing sports, watching comedic movies, hanging out with friends and dancing in the rain.

Rot

This poem is inspired by the proximity between love and hate. It is written in German.

German Original

Wenn ich an dich denke, färben sich meine Gedanken rot. Rot, die Farbe der Liebe. Rot, die Farbe der Wut. Rot, die Farbe der Ambiguität. Hass vergiftet das Blut in meinen verkalkten Adern. Es strömt, ohne zu hadern, direkt in mein Herz. Das Gift lässt sich nicht auszumerzen, Der Schmerz wird chronisch. Es kriecht in den verborgensten Winkel. Es füllt jede Ritze und Rille. Ich bin zum Bersten voll. Mein Körper erstickt an den Toxinen. Mein Herz schlägt Überstunden, versucht, unermüdlich das Gift auszuscheiden. Das Gegenteil trifft ein. Jede einzelne Zelle wird imprägniert. Unauslöschbar. Unausbesserbar. Es wird schwarz vor meinen Augen. Ein Tanz flimmernder Pünktchen. Langsam sinke ich auf meine Knie. Ich möchte entfliehen. Diesem brodelnden Hasses ist es unmöglich, sich zu entziehen. Wann wurde aus Liebe Hass?

English Translation

Red When I think of you, my thoughts turn red. Red, the color of love. Red, the color of rage. Red, the color of ambiguity. Hatred poisons the blood in my calcified veins. It flows, without hesitation, straight into my heart. The poison cannot be eradicated, the pain becomes chronic. It crawls into the most hidden corner. It fills every crack and crevice. I am filled to the brim. My body is suffocating from the toxins. My heart works overtime, trying tirelessly to expel the poison. The opposite happens. Every single cell becomes impregnated. Indelible. Irreparable. My vision turns black. A dance of shimmering dots. Slowly, I sink to my knees. I want to escape. From this boiling hatred, it is impossible to escape. When did love become hate?

Vers la Lune et retour

French Original

Je t’aime comme la lune aime le soleil. Elle se met à briller face au soleil. Ses yeux pétillent de malice. L’attention du soleil la fait fleurir. Sans lui, la lune devient vaporeuse. La Terre est la maîtresse du soleil, recevant la moitié de son attention. La lune compte les étoiles passantes. Elle gaspille sa beauté, son temps et sa vie à atteindre une lumière qui ne lui appartient pas. Mais elle commence, pas à pas, à briller de sa propre façon de temps en temps. Etrangère. Bizarre. Magnificente.

English Translation

To the moon and back I love you like the moon loves the sun. She begins to shine when she faces the sun. Her eyes sparkle with mischief. The sun’s attention makes her bloom. Without him, the moon becomes hazy. The Earth is the sun’s mistress, Receiving half of his attention. The moon counts the passing stars. She wastes her beauty, her time and her life, trying to grasp the light out of reach. But she is beginning, step by step, to shine in her own way from time to time. Strange. Unfamiliar. Magnificent.

← Back to Language Arts