Archive > Vol. 12 no. 1

Toon Tellegen 

“A man thought that he was free”

Translated from the Dutch by Judith Wilkinson

A man thought that he was free
and an angel struck him down,

the man said that he was free
and again the angel struck him down,

but the man said once again that he was free
and once again the angel struck him down,

then the man shouted that he was free,
that he was always free, that he would never be anything but free
and the angel struck him until he bled

and shame and wasted effort blew about
and spread like dust
across the grey earth

and the man stammered that he was free,
that he thought that he was free

and the angel flew away.