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.