Friday, January 08, 2021

The sawing goes on

Sie sägten die Äste ab, auf denen sie saßen
Und schrieen sich zu ihre Erfahrungen,
Wie man schneller sägen könnte, und fuhren
Mit Krachen in die Tiefe, und die ihnen zusahen,
Schüttelten die Köpfe beim Sägen und
Sägten weiter.
Humble attempt to translate as literally as possible.
Suggestions for improvement are welcome.


They sawed the branches on which they sat
and called out to eachother their experiences,
how one could saw faster, and fell
with crack into the depth, and those watching them
shook their heads while sawing and
went on sawing

 

Bertold Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956)




 

2 comments:

  1. Most of us contribute somewhat to the sawing of the tree of the Earth that supports us, I suppose, such as me driving my car, yet still I drive...

    ReplyDelete