EASY GOING BERTOLT BRECHT ~

The river sings praises. . .



The river sings praises. Stars in the trees.

The smell of thyme and peppermint,

Our brows are freshened by a little breeze

We are the children, this is God's present.

The grass is soft: the woman without bitterness

The lovely willows make everything rejoice:

Pleasure's a certainty for those who will say yes.

Never again would you want to leave this place.







I am absolutely certain. . .



I am absolutely certain that tomorrow will be fine

That after rain comes sun

That my neighbour loves his daughter

My enemy is a bad man.

Also I have no doubt

That I'm doing better than almost everyone else.

Also I've never been heard to say

Things have got worse

The race is degenerating

Or that there are no women who are happy with just one man.

In all those matters

I am more generous, more trusting, more polite than the discontented

For all those matters

Seem to me of little consequence.







Yes, friends, now the grass is all eaten up. . .


Yes, friends, now the grass is all eaten up

And word is going round the continents that life

Is no longer worth living

The races are old, expect nothing more of them

The little planet is nimble and picked to the bone

It's all over and done with, for a while there was some chatter about it

Nothing more. We are

Merely a rare little generation of eyewitnesses

And the age will be called

The Age of Rubber




___________________________


The Collected Poems of
Bertolt Brecht
translated by Tom Kuhn & David Constantine
Liveright 2018

BERTOLT BRECHT ~

Bertolt Brecht and Walter Benjamin playing chess, Denmark, Skovsbostrand, 1934

On the Terms of Exile 

No need to drive a nail into the wall

To hang your hat on;

When you come in, just drop it on the chair

No guest has sat on.

Don't worry about watering the flowers —

In fact, don't plant them.

You will have gone back home before they bloom,

And who will want them?

If mastering the language is too hard,

Only be patient;

The telegram imploring your return

Won't need translation.

Remember, when the ceiling sheds itself

In flakes of plaster,

The wall that keeps you out is crumbling too,

As fast or faster.

__________________________

Translated from the German by Adam Kirsch 

 

 

BERTOLT BRECHT, LOVE POEMS ~

Bertolt Brecht

Love Poems
Liveright 2014

 translated by David Constantine & Tom Kuhn

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/bertolt-brecht

EARTH ~

THOSE WHO TAKE THE MEAT FROM THE TABLE


Teach contentment.

Those from whom the taxes are destined

Demand sacrifice.

Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry

Of wonderful times to come.

Those who lead the country into the abyss

Call ruling too difficult

For ordinary men.

---------~

BERTOLT BRECHT
SELECTED POEMS
TRANSLATED BY H. R. HAYS
REYNAL & HITCHCOCK, 1947

photo: faculty-staff.ou.edu