Now where to?

Text by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)

Translated into English by Joseph Massaad 

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Now where to ? My stupid foot
Wants to carry me to Germany;
But my wisdom shakes its head
And cleverly says to me :

It is true that the war has ended,
But the war tribunals remain,
And it seems that you once wrote enough
To be condemned over and over again.

It would truly be unpleasant
Should I happen to get shot;
I am no hero; there is a lack
Of pathetic air in my lot.

I would gladly go to England,
If no hunger came with it
And the English – already their smell
Gives me cramp and makes me vomit.

It sometimes comes to my mind
Towards America to venture,
Towards the great freedom stable,
Inhabited by louts of similar nature.

And yet a country frightens me,
Where a people with no king can bowl,
Where they chose to chew tobacco,
And can spit without a cuspidor.

I could find it accommodating
In Russia, this beautiful land,
However I doubt if in winter,
The Russian whip I could stand.

I look up the sky with sadness,
Where thousands of stars are dozing-
However my very own star
Shows no sign of coming.

It lost its way in the sky, perhaps,
In its golden labyrinth,
As I lose my way as well
In the tumult of this earth.