Brother, are you here?

I can't see you in the dark

and that Corporal of the Guard

is late

what time is it?

I’m cold.

I’m cold too

light a match

what time is it?

how are we going to believe in the world again?

what time is it?

The gate bolted

the road deserted

outposts in the dark

like discarded bones

and that Corporal of the Guard

my God!

he's late

why is the wind blowing?

What time is it in the dark?

What time is it in the rain?

What time is it tonight on all the earth?

What time is it?

*

We move on

our feet are lost in the mud

and can't be heard

one man thirsts

another has no cap

one man's breath stinks

another is covered in spots.

You want to think

but you sink

you want to say something

but your tongue is a slice of mud

your heart a slice of mud

may whoever survive attest to this

the world tonight was mud

give me your hand.

Machine guns under armpits

the soldiers’ raincoats

grate

and the rain starts

one man is cold

another carries a sack

one man remembers the sun

another has a wooden leg.

In the past they would walk

and their shoes grate

on the leaves

think about it

on the leaves.

Every so often we step aside

to let the trucks pass

the smell of bread

from a truck transporting army bread

one loaf next to the other

and therefore none cold

give me your hand.

If only

you could stop for a little

to take off your boots

and hurl them

to the heavens

in order to breathe upon

your numb soles

the night is a wall

a black wall

the mud a sure grave

give me your hand.

We move on

one man looks into the distance

another can't see anything

one man has a scar on his face

another halts

and isn't going anywhere

a soldier wanders off

and takes a piss.

If only you could stop

to remove your cap

and hide your face

and bend down to find

find what?