Let's talk about eternity: Of course, I'm largely to blame! But someone ruled my fate, too, I felt that omnipresent gaze. It gave me neither sleep nor peace, It lived within me and ruled me from above. And I, like a slave to the universal mood, Ruled the country with an iron will. Who was my secret supreme master? What did He want, ruling me? I, like a slave, judge, and executor, Was everything above this impoverished country. And everything was incomprehensible then: Where did the strength, the will, the power come from? My soul, like a machine wheel, Treaded the passions of millions. And only later, in the spring, in '45, He whispered quietly in my ear: "You were my novice, my soldier, And your peace is already near!"
