Tuesday, March 16, 2010

One Undespairing Beak

five-story house in laleli
By Gisela Kraft

one lies in rags on the street
and his stomach is empty
and he wishes for death

one sits with friends at tea and backgammon
and his mind is empty
and he wishes for death

one sits in a straight-backed chair at a desk
and his bank account is empty
and he wishes for death

one lies in bed staring out to sea
and the place next to him in bed is empty
and he wishes for death

one flies back with food in its beak
and its nest is empty
and only this one says
we should give it another try

Translated by Laura Leichum

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is this poems message/ theme?

OneGoodPoem said...

I think it means: humans despair about many things like health, love, loneliness, etc. Humans give up. But animals, even when bad things happen to them, keep trying.