And we went through my home town
almost silently, he said nothing, as though everything
had to remain unsaid, hot whisper
lingered on that summer day,
no tree cast a shadow, no tunnel,
he removed my hand from
his hip and inquired about the location
of von Loudon's grave - I guess, he
no longer wanted to go farther,
my father.

Translated from the German by Anatoly Kudryavitsky and Yulia Kudryavitskaya