Der Tag legt endlich die Krone ab:

Der Tag legt endlich die Krone ab:

Groß und mächtig wächst jeder Baum;

Sehnsucht tritt an der Wipfel Saum,

Und Seufzer fallen von Wolken herab.

Die Blätter hängen wie Stein bei Stein,

Nachtwinde schläfern die Erde ein.

Wem ein Seufzer fiel in den Schoß,

Den lassen die Tränen nicht mehr allein,

Den läßt die Dunkelheit nicht mehr los,

Dem wandern die Füße rastlos fort,

Sein Mund spricht manches begrabene Wort,

Die Nacht hängt als Schleppe an seinem Kleid,

Bis ihn ein Herz von dem Seufzer befreit.

My Translation:

The Day finally lays done its crown:

Every tree grows tall and might;

Longing to rise to the tree-top edge,

And sighs fall down from the clouds.

The leaves hang like stone upon stone, 

While night winds lull the earth to sleep.

Whoever cradles a sigh in their lap, 

Finds that tears no longer leave their side, 

Darkness won’t let go, 

Their feet wander restlessly onward, 

Their mouth speaks many buried words, 

The night hangs like a train on their gown, 

Until a heart frees them from the sigh. 

Commentary:

Dauthendey’s poem is rooted in late-Romantic imagery. The “day laying down its crown” signals the transition from light to darkness, a metaphor for not only evening, but what Dauthendey views as a change in eras. Trees “growing tall and mighty” mirror the human spirit, while “longing” to ascend to the treetops suggests desire or yearning to reach beyond what’s possible. 

The falling “sighs” and stone-like leaves create a somber scene, which you can almost feel. This is reinforced by the “night winds” that lull the earth to sleep. Dauthendey portrays grief and solitude and this identification with nature to portray change, reflects a feeling of nostalgia, in a time of growing modernism and industrialisation. The “buried words” may reflect the alienation many artists felt, which was brought about by urbanisation and societal change. 

Yet, the poem ends with a quiet redemption: a heart capable of freeing another from their sigh. This closure suggests the restorative power of humanity, and that there is still room to revert to what was before.