Don't Cry Out
by Hilde Domin
Hilde Domin (1909-2006), one of the leading German poets of the 20th century, grew up in a Jewish family in Cologne, eventually leaving Germany in 1932 to study in Italy. From there, she and her husband fled Mussolini’s fascist regime and found asylum in the Dominican Republic. She returned to her native land in 1954, and during the five decades until her death became one of the most distinguished and much celebrated voices among German writers.
Put your finger to your mouth.
Don’t cry out.
Stay where you are
on the path’s edge.
Perhaps you should lie down
in the dust.
Then you’d see the heavens
and be one with the street,
and whoever turned to you
could depart as if letting no one return.
Everything is easier
when you lie than when you stand,
when you keep silent than when you call out.
Watch the clouds as they drift by.
Be modest, don’t cling to anything.
They’ll dissolve.
Even you are quite light.
Even you won’t endure.
It doesn’t help to fear
abandonment
when the wind
rises to scatter
the clouds.
Translated from the German by Mark S. Burrows
Hilde Domin (1909-2006), one of the leading German poets of the 20th century, grew up in a Jewish family in Cologne, eventually leaving Germany in 1932 to study in Italy. From there, she and her husband fled Mussolini’s fascist regime and found asylum in the Dominican Republic. She returned to her native land in 1954, and during the five decades until her death became one of the most distinguished and much celebrated voices among German writers.
Put your finger to your mouth.
Don’t cry out.
Stay where you are
on the path’s edge.
Perhaps you should lie down
in the dust.
Then you’d see the heavens
and be one with the street,
and whoever turned to you
could depart as if letting no one return.
Everything is easier
when you lie than when you stand,
when you keep silent than when you call out.
Watch the clouds as they drift by.
Be modest, don’t cling to anything.
They’ll dissolve.
Even you are quite light.
Even you won’t endure.
It doesn’t help to fear
abandonment
when the wind
rises to scatter
the clouds.
Translated from the German by Mark S. Burrows
