My bride will truly sob for me, My friends will pay my debts for me, Others will sing all the songs for me, And, perhaps, my enemies will toast to me. I am not given interesting books to read, And my guitar is without strings, And I’m not allowed beyond and I’m not allowed below, And for me there is no sun and no moon. I am not allowd freedom: I have no right, One is only to go from the door - to the wall, I’m not allowed to the left, I’m not allowed to the right, One is only allowed a piece of the sky, one is allowed to dream. I am dreaming, how I come out, how my padlock is opened, How my guitar is returned, Who will be waiting there for me, how I shall be embraced, And which songs will be sung for me.
© Elisabeth Jelinek. Translation, 2018