Lovely Childhood

The mouth of a girl who had long lain among the reeds looked
gnawed away.

As the breast was cut open, the gullet showed full of holes.

Finally in a cavity below the diaphragm
a nest of young rats was discovered.

One little sister lay dead.
The others thrived on liver and kidneys,
drank the cold blood and
enjoyed a lovely childhood here.

And sweet and swift came their death also:
They were all thrown into the water together,
Oh, how the little muzzles squeaked!

Gottfried Benn

Translation from the German by Babette Deutsch