Kurt Tucholsky, 'Helmet Off'

[duathir.livejournal.com]

Helmet Off

There the large Pickelhaube lies
In a black, dark hole in the earth.
It rests quietly…But look, I believe
That it is still moving.

A District President displays his large teeth
“Must I recite mocking poetry at the grave?
De mortuis nil nisi bene! “
As it happened.

Do not forget them: the chevaliers,
The officers who sat on their wealth at home
The young one is playing the zither of complaint –
All of them beasts.

Helmet off!
Full of piety? Yes, full of cakes.
He lies on well-deserved dungheap.
We must first of all curse the old
And then look for good new ones to curse
Until he has decomposed.

By Kurt Tucholsky
Translated by Peter Appelbaum