When the child was a child

When the child was a child
It walked with its arms swinging,
wanted the brook to be a river,
the river to be a torrent,
and this puddle to be the sea.

When the child was a child,
it didn’t know that it was a child,
everything was soulful,
and all souls were one.

…

When the child was a child,
It threw a stick like a lance against a tree,
And it quivers there still today.

Lied Vom Kindsein – Peter Handke