Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Alfred Brendel

As soon as the cybermen

As soon as the cybermen
had contrived to behave like you and me
we knew
the game was up
There they sit
with faces too bland for comfort
pour their tea
look languidly into each other\'s eyes
or shake with laughter
Impeccably
yet with notable refinement
they play the piano
procreate discreetly in the attic
and shoot the birds from the roof
while we
veterans of artlessness
see no other way out
but to mutate into angels
or
rather more likely
turn outrageously evil

As soon as the cybermen

Als die künstlichen Menschen gelernt hatten
sich wie Du und ich zu benehmen
wußten wir
daß unser Spiel verloren war
Da sitzen sie
etwas zu glatt im Gesicht
und trinken Tee
blicken einander tief in die Augen
oder krümmen sich vor Lachen
Unfehlbar
und doch mit größter Zartheit
spielen sie Klavier
reproduzieren sich diskret im Nebenzimmer
und schießen die Vögel vom Dach
während wir
Veteranen der Natürlichkeit
von den Umständen zum Äußersten getrieben
keinen anderen Ausweg sehen
als engelhaft gut zu werden
oder vielleicht doch lieber
über die Maßen böse
Close

As soon as the cybermen

As soon as the cybermen
had contrived to behave like you and me
we knew
the game was up
There they sit
with faces too bland for comfort
pour their tea
look languidly into each other\'s eyes
or shake with laughter
Impeccably
yet with notable refinement
they play the piano
procreate discreetly in the attic
and shoot the birds from the roof
while we
veterans of artlessness
see no other way out
but to mutate into angels
or
rather more likely
turn outrageously evil

As soon as the cybermen

As soon as the cybermen
had contrived to behave like you and me
we knew
the game was up
There they sit
with faces too bland for comfort
pour their tea
look languidly into each other\'s eyes
or shake with laughter
Impeccably
yet with notable refinement
they play the piano
procreate discreetly in the attic
and shoot the birds from the roof
while we
veterans of artlessness
see no other way out
but to mutate into angels
or
rather more likely
turn outrageously evil
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère