A Song about Hope.

(transl. by Tanya J. Wolfson)

In the hour when I knew I had come to the end of my rope,
When blows rained without pause, when there seemed to be no way but down,
I got rid of all gods, friends and trumps, but I held on to hope.
I believed - and with faith came the faraway glimmer of dawn.

And when all my defenses were stripped away layer by layer,
When fear blinded my eyes and when life had me stretched on a rack,
With what strength I had left I repeated her name like a prayer,
And from somewhere far off, very faintly, I heard her call back.

Even death turned away while I stayed on her trail like a hound,
Happy end on my mind, crazed and raving, I kept up the chase.
But at last I caught up, and I called her, and she turned around:
I saw an old hag with a harsh, unfamiliar face.