Keinen verderben zu lassen, auch nicht sich selber
BERTOLT BRECHT

They are not so difficult these bumpy brows of ours
nor so difficult a dog to console, with ringworm and all.
Upright and silent we scold each other in vain, entreating:
may the sleight of so many years take flight
from our pathways that bode evil and blight!
(But the traps of sleight do not flee alone.)
We yearn for a world without dread,
with the other our cup overflows!
(But getting mad is not enough.)

Translated by Julie Wark