Friday, April 20, 2012

"Wer Bin Ich?" ("Who Am I?") by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

from Tegel prison..

Who am I? They often tell me
I stepped from my cell's confinement
Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a squire from his country-house.
Who am I? They often tell me
I used to speak to my warders
Freely and friendly and clearly,
A though it were mine to command.
Who am I? They also tell me
I bore the days of misfortune
Equally, smilingly, proudly,
Like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I myself know of myself?
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Struggling for breath, as though hands were
compressing my throat,
Yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,
Thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,
Tossing in expectation of great events,
Powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
Weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
Faint, and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
And before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!

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Today is Hitler's birthday.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in a concentration camp two weeks before the Allies marched in; three weeks before Hitler's suicide.

Bonhoeffer fought against injustice,
following his convictions,
at the call of his Lord.
Our Lord.

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2 comments:

  1. Thank-you so much for this post. I just saw it, over 3 years after you posted it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a personal hero of mine, & this poem has real meaning for me. Thank-you for sharing this here.

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  2. Three years ago in the magnificent cathedral in Heidelberg I picked up a copy of this poem in German. Since then it has sat in my poetry book until, before dawn this morning, I stumbled on your translation. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart.
    Peace Alfred

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