1.
Indeed I live in the dark ages!
A guileless word is an absurdity.
A smooth forehead betokensA hard heart.
He who
Has not yet
The terrible tidings.
Ah, what an age it
When to speak of trees is almost a
For it is a kind of silence about injustice!
And he who walks calmly across the street,
Is he not out of reach of his
In trouble?
It is true:
I earn my
But, believe me, it is only an accident.
Nothing that I do entitles me to eat my fill.
By chance I was spared. (If my luck leaves meI am lost.)They tell me: eat and drink.
Be glad you have it!
But how can I eat and
When my food is snatched from the
And my glass of water belongs to the thirsty?
And yet I eat and drink.
I would gladly be wise.
The old books tell us what wisdom is:
Avoid the strife of the
Live out your little
Fearing no
Using no
Returning good for evil —Not fulfillment of desire but
Passes for wisdom.
I can do none of this:
Indeed I live in the dark ages!2.
I came to the cities in a time of
When hunger ruled.
I came among men in a time of
And I revolted with them.
So the time passed
Which on earth was given me.
I ate my food between massacres.
The shadow of murder lay upon my sleep.
And when I loved,
I loved with indifference.
I looked upon nature with impatience.
So the time passed
Which on earth was given me.
In my time streets led to the quicksand.
Speech betrayed me to the slaughterer.
There was little I could do.
But without
The rulers would have been more secure.
This was my hope.
So the time passed
Which on earth was given me.3.
You, who shall emerge from the
In which we are sinking,
Think —When you speak of our weaknesses,
Also of the dark
That brought them forth.
For we went,changing our country more often than our shoes.
In the class war,
When there was only injustice and no resistance.
For we knew only too well:
Even the hatred of
Makes the brow grow stern.
Even anger against
Makes the voice grow harsh.
Alas,
Who wished to lay the foundations of
Could not ourselves be kind.
But you, when at last it comes to
That man can help his fellow man,
Do no judge
Too harshly.translated by H.
R.
Hays
