Till Lindemann's 'Messer' - "Meine Mutter ist Blind"

Maybe I'm better off this way. 

(Poem no. 10 out of 54, located pg. 34 of ‘Messer’, 2010 print.) 

Disclaimer: Poem copyrighted to Till Lindemann. This post does not include photos/illustrations of said poem from 'Messer'. The original German text is also not included. This is only a interpretive translation and accuracy is not guaranteed.




My Mother is Blind

Acne and rosacea rush hand in hand
Over my tender skin
Over untouched country
And burns it as a childish prank

My father says to me
"Dear child, believe here and now:
The woman who takes you for a husband
Will, herself, be ugly or blind."

In the mirror I do not see;
I carry a torch upon my face
I am lonely, but not alone -
Acne and rosacea are always there for me.

Original Meter: Largely tetrameters, the first line is trochaic hexameter (truncated at the end so it ends on the stressed syllable) and the last line is trochaic heptameter, also truncated at the end.

Original Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CCDD EEFF.

Comments: Changed a few things around, added quote marks. My view on Werner Lindemann softened significantly since I first translated this so I'm not going to dismiss it as him being a jackass to Till, but it doesn't really lessen the melancholy.

The poem 'Hässlich' I would recommend as a companion piece, I might do that next.