German Poetry Today

The sky is silent. And ruins mourn. But, heart, you live! Nothing can ever bury you. Already there‘s the scent of bread from quickly put huts. We are one people, but none by wailing walls. We know each other as we never did before; Hardened by the glow surrounding us. Let walls tumble. Bread is stronger! Strong as the defiance burned by all fires! – Artur Zickler

“The walls may break – but the hearts don’t!”

Girls of Today
These are the girls of today, they stand their ground. The armory needs people: they get to work. That‘s how girls are: day in, day out. Weapons and more weapons should be our motto. This is us girls in war: hard at work. Later, having been victorious, we’ll be “sweet” again.

The German Nazi Poets
They never die out,
Their propaganda funnel
Still blares in every house

And hammers the slogans
Into every German brain
And you let yourself be deceived
And you let yourself be misled.

They urge you to work
And drum it into you:
Weapons and more weapons,
That should be the motto.

Let houses crumble,
Hearts don’t break,
That’s what you hear them say today,
Such a Nazi poet nitwit.

Even if the walls tumble,
The hearts remain strong,
For strong is in all of us
The marrow of loyalty to Hitler.

And whether you live in shacks
Or atop dung heaps,
They still try to get you
With pathos and cunning.

Whether your houses smoke
Or your family is dead,
They still try to use you
Despite grief and need.

Despite your hate and anger,
still rush you to war,
Some poet shirkers
And babble about victory.

This is poetry today,
From poets far from the action,
The poetry of your failure,
The poetry shortly before the end.