DESPAIR

I wear
the cross in my throat

choke it out
balance it
on my clavicle

it grows beyond
thrusts back into me

can’t protect
my heart
from its force

 

VERZWEIFLUNG 

ich trage
das Kreuz in der Kehle

wües heraus
balanciere es
auf meinem Schlüsselbein

es wächst hinaus
stößt in mich zurück

kann mein Herz
nich schützen
vor seiner Wucht

 

JOB

your path
leads me
to me

in me
you are
in you

let us drink
the chalice
and break
the bread of darkness

 

HIOB

dein Weg
führt mich
zu mir

in mir
bist du
in dir

lass uns trinken
den Kelch
und brechen
das Brot der Dunkelheit

 

LUCIFER

Lucifer beats
his wings

looks at his God
in an unending glance

God is not without him
Lucifer is not without God

the world
at war

Lucifer turns
his glance

his torch still on fire
in the fall

 

LUZIFER

Luzifer schwingt
seine Flügel

sieht an seinen Gott
im ewigen Blick

Gott ist nicht ohne ihn
Luzifer ist nicht ohne Gott

die Welt
im Krieg

Luzifer wendet
seinen Blick

im Sturz noch
die Feuerfackel

Published in the September 7, 2018 issue: View Contents

Ute von Funcke has published three collections of poems, most recently frau auf der flucht (scaneg Verlag/Munich). Stuart Friebert has published fifteen volumes of translations (from German, Romanian, Czech, Italian, and Lithuanian) as well as many books of poems.

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