Hans Magnus Enzensberger
Noises
Peace at last, now they’re all sleeping,
the bellowing football fans,
rally bikers,
drunks, drug pushers.
Only very far off, invisible,
on the neon sky,
a rescue helicopter clacks.
But then you hear this dripping –
what can it be that drips there
and drips? A technical whirr
is inside the concrete, something fluid
feebly trickles, in your ear there’s a crackle,
in your joints, softly the air
in your lungs hisses,
currents crackle in your hair,
ghostly, and the more you listen
the more distinctly you catch
frequencies from the beyond, it’s enough
to drive you out of your wits!
You put your hands to your ears
in vain. But then, no sooner than
you’ve dropped your hands again –
listen! Nothing stirs any more,
anywhere. Nothingness stirs.
Panic stillness, silence.
Translated by Michael Hamburger
Page(s) 99
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