In this poem by German mathematician and poet Felix Hausdorff (1868-1942), the orgiastic joy of sexual union between new lovers is likened to a state of intoxication or frenzy. The “bacchante” in the last stanza refers to the mythical Bacchae, famously passionate female followers of Dionysus, the god of wine.
Orgy
My frenzy builds like madness, more and more
With all the veils between us torn apart
Just hours ago you faced me, calm, demure
Now your bare skin glows to light the dark
Your nakedness is no transgression, for
The crime is that clothes ever hid your heart
My frenzy builds like madness, more and more
With all the veils between us torn apart
I first drank in the outlines of your form
But now my soul’s deep in your every part
Oh you. . . .where are we? From your bacchante pores
Waft scents of linens drenched with our desire
My frenzy builds like madness, more and more
German Original
Orgie
Und immer toller wird des Rausches Flug
Und aller Fremdheit Schleier sind zerrissen
Vor Stunden noch, da warst du spröd und klug
Nun glühst du hüllenlos aus Finsternissen
Nicht deiner Nachtkehit schäm dich: dein Gewissen
Verklag’ dich, dass dein Leib je Hüllen trug!
Und immer wilder wird des Rausches Flug
Und aller Fremdheit Schleier sind zerrissen
Erst schauend trank ich deiner Linien Bug
Nun bin ich wühlend ganz in dich verbissen.
O du. . . wo sind wir? ein Bacchantenzug
Schwärmt wirbelnd aus den wollustschwülen Kissen
Und immer toller wird des Rausches Flug
~ Kimberly Gladman (English translation) ~
~ Felix Hausdorff (German original) ~
Table of Contents
Cloud… Eric Myvraagnes… Cover image
Publisher’s note… Kimberly Gladman
Notes from January… Hilary Sallick… poetry
Cynosure… Mary Buchinger… poetry
Πρᾶξις (Praxis) 30… Chris Bohner… visual art
Πρᾶξις (Praxis) 39… Chris Bohner… visual art
My Big Quit… Greta L. Ode… essay
Aftershock… Kimberly Gladman… essay
Yes, Dear Grandchildren… Ellen Fisher… visual art
A Parenting Epiphany… Philip M. Jackson… essay
The Hand and Faucet Duet… Denise Freed… dance (link)
From To Bury the Dead… Greta L. Ode… fiction
Why Isn’t Everybody Into Wittgenstein?... Kimberly Gladman… essay
The Saints Will All Be Blue… Ingrid Scheibler… visual art
Immersive Van Gogh… Kimberly Gladman… review
Infinite Placeholder Regress… Scott Axelrod… essay
Quantslut… Kimberly Gladman… column
e-PI-phany… Keith Tornheim… poetry
Toward a Higher Order… Naomi Myrvaagnes… poetry
Orgy… trans. Kimberly Gladman (Felix Hausdorff)... poetry in translation
Tractatus… Nicola Welda… essay
Eyecollage… Steve Adler-Golden… visual art
Don’t Look Up… Rich Fontes, Kimberly Gladman… dialogue
Shorting the Earth… Kimberly Gladman… fiction
Remembering E.O. Wilson… Sam Schrager… essay
A Posthumous Apology to E.O. Wilson… Debra David… poetry