Archive > Vol. 19 NO 2

Erich Fried

Translated from the German by Wolfgang Görtschacher and David Malcolm

The Suppressed (Unterdrückte)

The fear
and the getting tired
and the fear of getting tired
and the exhaustion of the fear of getting tired
and the fear of the exhaustion of fear
and the fear of the compassion for others
and for yourself
and the fear of the compassion of others
and the fear of the drying up of compassion
and the fear of no longer counting as someone
who beats fear and fights in the front ranks
and the fear
not really to be fighting in the front ranks
and the fear of the fight
and the fear of the fear of the fight
and the fear of the cessation of the fight
and the fear of
not understanding this fear well enough
and the fear of understanding this fear too well
Out of all these fears
and their fears
you can form the front ranks
in the fight against us

You fears that fight against us
come over again to us
and fight on our side
We want to pledge ourselves to you
we want not to lie to you
and we want not to misprize you
and not to suppress you

Our fears stand
for the fears of humanity
We fight with our fear
against our fear