Stanzas 1-3

The opening quotation of “Lost in Translation” is from a translation by the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) of lines 61-64 in the poem “Palme” by the French poet Paul Valéry (1871-1945). Rilke writes, as Merrill quotes:

Diese Tage, die leer dir scheinen

und wertlos für das All

haben Wurzeln zwischen den Steinen

und trinken dort überall.

These lines in English would be “These days, which seem empty / and entirely fruitless to you, / have roots between the stones / and drink from everywhere.” This passage announces two of the subjects of the poem: translation and search for meaning. The first three lines of the poem itself then create an atmosphere of anticipation as a boy waits in “daylight” and “lamplight” for a “puzzle which keeps never coming.” The juxtaposition of “tense” and “oasis” in the description of the tabletop in line...