There is a song
that time
turns around

do you still know how
and now how
and now how

what a voice
would call happiness
sounds

unbearably clear
to begin with
and at the beginning

of the end?
irgendwo
irgendwo

the melody is
then
lost

do you still know how
and now how
and now how

it twinkled
and sparkled
until you heard

a bell tinkle:
love is used up
the measure's full

A voice is left
behind
in a music-box

it does not say how
say how long
it is stuck

and the way to open
the box-lid
you still know how

and now how
and now how
you will have

to lift up a stone:
it's me, father,
let me in

no matter how
no matter how

Translated by John Irons