The Horror

I saw myself go through abandoned rooms.

- The stars danced crazily on blue ground,

And on the fields the dogs howled loud,

And in the treetops the foehn rummaged wildly.

But suddenly: stillness! Stuffy fever glow

Lets poisonous flowers bloom from my mouth,

From the branches like from a wound

Pale gleaming dew falls, and falls, and falls like blood.

From a mirror's deceitful emptiness

A countenance slowly lifts in the vagueness

Out of horror and darkness: Cain!

Very quietly the velvet curtains rustle,

Through the window the moon looks as if into emptiness,

There I am alone with my murderer.