One of my all-time favorites. This German-to-English translation was written by my beloved, Bart Odom:<\/p>\n
From going through the bars, his gaze has become so exhausted
\nthat it holds nothing anymore.
\nTo him it is as if there are a thousand bars,
\nand beyond the thousand bars, no world.<\/p>\n
The easy swinging of that lithe, potent stride,
\nwhich turns in on itself in ever-smaller circles,
\nis like a dance of power around a center
\nin which a great will stands benumbed.<\/p>\n
Only at times the curtain of the pupils
\nrises silently – then an image goes in,
\ngoes through the tightened stillness of the limbs,
\nenters the heart and is no more.<\/p>\n