Refuge Behind Refuge
for Peter Huchel
by Reiner Kunze
Here only the wind comes uninvited through the gateway
Here
only god calls
He has countless lines laid
from heaven to earth
From the roof of the empty cow-house
to the roof of the empty sheep-house
the jet of rain
shrills from wooden gutters
What are you doing, asks god
Lord, I say, it's
raining, what should
one do
And his answer grows green
through every window
Reiner Kunze (German, born 1933) left the GDR state party in 1968 in response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1976 his critical examination of life behind the Iron Curtain, called The Lovely Years, was published in West Germany, and in the following year the GDR expatriated him. He settled in West Germany and presently lives in Bavaria. He has published both poetry and prose and also translations of Czech literature.
Poet Peter Huchel (German, 1903-1981), after his release from a Russian prisoner of war camp at the end of World War II, worked in radio in the GDR and edited an influential poetry magazine. He eventually fell afoul of authorities and for more than a decade was under Stasi surveillance. In 1971 he was allowed to emigrate and after first living in Rome, moved to Breisgau in West Germany.
for Peter Huchel
by Reiner Kunze
Here only the wind comes uninvited through the gateway
Here
only god calls
He has countless lines laid
from heaven to earth
From the roof of the empty cow-house
to the roof of the empty sheep-house
the jet of rain
shrills from wooden gutters
What are you doing, asks god
Lord, I say, it's
raining, what should
one do
And his answer grows green
through every window
Reiner Kunze (German, born 1933) left the GDR state party in 1968 in response to the invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1976 his critical examination of life behind the Iron Curtain, called The Lovely Years, was published in West Germany, and in the following year the GDR expatriated him. He settled in West Germany and presently lives in Bavaria. He has published both poetry and prose and also translations of Czech literature.
Poet Peter Huchel (German, 1903-1981), after his release from a Russian prisoner of war camp at the end of World War II, worked in radio in the GDR and edited an influential poetry magazine. He eventually fell afoul of authorities and for more than a decade was under Stasi surveillance. In 1971 he was allowed to emigrate and after first living in Rome, moved to Breisgau in West Germany.
