Untitled [I am that portrait on the dusty wall]

^{translated from the Yiddish by Daniel Kraft}

I am that portrait on the dusty wall
of somebody unknown, thinking a silent thought.
Often I am that brittle skeleton
in the anatomy book sitting on my shelf.

I am often my own shadow, that follows me 
and paints me on the walls in strange designs.
Often I am that unseen image
looming in a wild creature’s dream.

I am often that dead figure,
that plaster sculpture in the middle of the park.
Often I am entirely the charming 
caricature of a loser, a Jew.

I see myself in all places, naked. 
I am a part of everything and everything is in me.
In ruined castles I stand maimed, stripped bare,
I lie anonymous beneath destroyed gravestones.

I see myself in all places, naked. 
I am a part of everything and everything is in me.
In being—I am there. In nothingness—not gone.
Even outside of all that is, I am never beside myself.