Peter Baum
In 1914 there was a rainbow
In 1914 there was a rainbow.
Black birds swooped, pigeons shone
Silver as they wheeled in circles
Between the grey clouds and a narrow strip of sun.
Battle upon battle. They lied like troopers.
Horrible, those rows of smashed-up heads!
Shells keep on and on exploding,
Losing speed as they tumble.
The arc of pain expands and expands.
Caught between Death and the rainbow,
They clutch their rifles more firmly,
Spitting at the enemy,
Propping up each other,
Tumbling like waves of the sea.
Look! Across the hills they stagger,
Attracted by Death, magnetically.
Peter Baum (1869-1916) was killed while working as a stretcher-bearer on the Western Front. The German texts of his and Gerrit Engelke’s poems can be found in The Lost Voices of World War I , edited by Tim Cross (Bloomsbury)
Translated by Merryn Williams
Page(s) 63
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