Translated from the German by Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright

Abruptly they stand before you,
as you push open a strange door.
Alone and alert
they stand in the shadowy hallway.
And so small,
only their gaze stops
you from stumbling over them:

Or they surround you,
a dozen on the subway platform
in a strange city underneath the earth,
with their puzzling
frightening joy.

Up to now you’ve been firmly convinced
when it comes down to it there is a limit
to everything
if only
because we all unfortunately
have our limits.

But stubbornly they hold their small faces,
bright as dishes,
lifted upwards.

Angela Krauß (b. 1950) is a German writer. She has published fifteen books of poetry and prose. She has been a guest lecturer at several universities and won awards such as the Gerrit-Engelke Prize and the Berlin Literature Prize. (2010)

Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright is a translator of contemporary German poetry and writing. Her translations have appeared in journals including AGNI, Slope, and Seneca Review. (2010)