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Meet Traute Klein,
AKA biogardener.

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Through the Eyes of a Poet

by Traute Klein, AKA biogardener

My Inspiration

Sunday, August 28, 2002, the 253rd birthday of Germany's greatest poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. On my way home from the country, I listen to a Lieder concert from Toronto. All the Lieder are based on Goethe poems. I know many by memory and keep on singing them long after the concert is over.

I also stopped at a ditch along the highway to dig up some self-seeded trees which the municipality would otherwise have killed.

The soil in this ditch is sandy and digging is easy, so I managed to dig up a record seven trees. I made sure that I got the wildflowers growing around them as well. The next day, I planted four of them in the country and potted the other three for later planting. All this time, I was still singing Goethe poems. My favorite is "Gefunden," and it tells how Goethe did with a flower what I had done with the trees.

The Background

The poem tells about the author walking alone in the forest without looking for anything in particular when he chanced upon a pretty little flower. When he tried to pick it, the flower spoke to him, telling him that it would be a shame to get picked just to wilt. So he dug it up with the roots, took it home, and planted it in his garden where it continues to flourish.

In school I was taught to interpret this poem as the author's theory on how to treat a woman. Well, I never thought about it before, but that is surely ridiculous. That is not the way Goethe treated women at all. He was, in fact, quite selfish in his romantic liaisons. His one marriage was one of honor to give his son a name, as German's would say.

Unlike his other poems in which he speaks of romantic encounters, this one is written in the first person, and I now believe that he is describing an actual event, and who knows, maybe he brought plants home from his walks frequently, just like I do.

I guess I have something else in common with Goethe. I never go anywhere without a shovel and pails, pots, and garbage bags in the truck. Oh yes, I also have snippers with me to cut the roots if necessary.

Apology

I am sorry for those of you who do not understand German. I have never found a Goethe translation which approaches the beauty of the German poetry. One would have to be an equally accomplished poet to write an acceptable translation, and a person like that is probably impossible to find. I am merely giving the English translation so you will understand the setting.

The Poem

Gefunden Ich ging im Walde so für mich hin, und nichts zu suchen, das war mein Sinn. Im Schatten sah ich ein Blümlein stehn, wie Sterne leuchten die Augen schön. Ich wollt' es brechen, da sagt' es fein: "Soll ich zum Welken gebrochen sein?" Ich grub's mit allen den Würzlein aus, zum Garten trug's ich am hübschen Haus, und pflanzt' es wieder am stillen Ort; nun zweigt es immer und blüht so fort.	Found Once in a forest I strolled content, looking for nothing, my sole intent. I saw a flower, shaded and shy, shining like starlight, bright as an eye. I went to pluck it, gently it said, "Must I be broken, wilt and be dead?" Then whole I dug it, out of the loam and to my garden carried it home. There to replant it, where no wind blows, more bright than ever it blooms and glows.

Warning

Let me hasten to tell you that I only dig up wild plants which would otherwise be destroyed. In Canada, it is legal to dig up anything you like in a public ditch, not in protected or private areas, of course. Whatever is not dug up, gets mowed down regularly for two reasons. To prevent fires when the plants dry in the summer heat and to keep the growth in the ditch short so it won't obstruct visibility. Don't try this in other countries without first checking the local laws.

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