BALLAD OF THE ABOLITION OF NIGHT Poem by Ulrike Almut Sandig

underneath the completely cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
night was abolished. a naked man
had his eyes bound
and against medical advice both hands
tied above his head
from time to time a man touched his skin
with a cordless drill
the report states that the man stood 2 ½ days
underneath the completely cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
a man fetched another from his cell
dressed him in bra and thong
and led him like a dog through the room
a leather lead on his chains
and told him he could save himself
by performing doggy tricks
underneath the completely cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
a man turned another on his head
and poured a cobalt-coloured
ocean into his anus. but however hard
he punched the man in the stomach
the detainee spat out nothing but water

underneath the completely cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
a man smashed the head of another
against the concrete wall
then laid a cloth on his face and soaked
him for 5 ½ hours with water
until he only needed to snap his fingers
for the man to take a deep breath
and give him a tale of his own accord
from 1001 nights and more
underneath the completely cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
a man at the end of his shift laid
the other after the session
in a coffin that could be locked from outside
or folded him into a pile
of washing together with shoes and packed
him in a wooden crate

underneath the corrupt and cloudless sky
of a state lagging somewhat behind
on the timeline of our kind of history
in a camp for detainees
in a wooden crate there lay a man with
only one eye. with the other
he observed the completely uniform
sky that was green, so green,
and with the last shred of his human sense
he jerked, he laughed, he screamed
in a spasm he thought would never end