Think about it

Think about it, man is the enemy of man
and he meditates on his own annihilation.
Think about it always, think about it now
as you look at the overcast sky
this moment in April,
as you believe you hear growth like a gentle rustling,
the girls are cutting thistels
under the lark’s song,
think about it at this very moment:

as you sample wine in the cellars of Randersacken,
or squeeze oranges in the gardens of Alicante,
as you fall asleep in the Hotel Mirarmar near the beach of Taorina,
or light a candle on All Soul’s Day in the churchyard at Feuchtwangen,
as you haul the nets, if you’re a fisherman, over the Dogger Bank,
or in Detroit remove a screw from a conveyer belt,
as you set out plants in the rice fields of Setzuan,
or ride a mule across the Andes—
think about it!

Think about it when a hand strokes you tenderly,
think about it when your wife hugs you,
think about it when your children laugh at your side.

Think about it, after the great destructions
everyone will try to prove their innocence.
Think about it:
Korea and Bikini aren’t on any map,
they are in your heart.
Think about it, you are responsible for every atrocity
committed far away from you—

Günther Eich

with thanks to Jim Doss (translator) and Loch Raven Review.