The Desert

Iceclap the silent sand spread wide
as clear was also some soldier.
So simple these sandwiches were.
as widespread was this city rough.
the short stay therein was blind
for the soldier in the “hot sun.”
the sons—of the desert—are in the sand
where icecold was sim one
city.
I was also once in this kim.
where also.

Translated by Oya Ataman and Gary Sullivan.

* * *

Die Wüste

Eisklapp die Stumme Sandweit war
so klar war auch mancher Soldat.
So einfach diese Sandwiches waren.
so weit war rauh auch diese Stadt.
der kurze Aufenthalt darin war blind.
für den Soldat im »heißen Sund«
die Söhne—der Wüste—sind im Sand
wo Eiskalt war so man minche
Stadt.
Auch ich war einst in dieser Kim.
wo auch.

* * *

Notes

Another poem that Oya did the first draft of. There is no German word "Kim"; we hit on "chim" as something vaguely equally strange as "Kim" might be in German. But it occurred to me later that Herbeck could be referring to a person's name, so I've changed it to "kim," lower case.