Two Poems
Durs Grünbein, translated by Michael Hofmann, 4 November 2004
“... didn’t do anything, couldn’t do anything, A hero of early vaudeville, of flickering black-and-white Comedies, imperilled by flights of steps, by a windy world. Secret favourite of a minority of the childish electorate, He was the butler in tails, teetering on the brink of the pool, Shivering on his flippers, swishing his wings. His performance Faultlessly ... ”