Fear is nearby by Richter Roegholt

Fear is nearby Fear is nearby in air and water in the bread that we give to the children fear when I was a child came from Spain from Guernica and Teruel the photo page the newsreel a child flees with a little dog in its arm my first ruins and carts with furniture fear was in a false certificate a German Jew had to go to America a child goes through such a thing at a distance but it knows that fear is close by during the war fear was around you when you went to school with your bike on the escalator that was in the tunnel in Rotterdam there could be Germans at the exit but you could better behave as if the fear was not there fear was always there since Teruel since Herosjima since Bikini it does not matter if the weapon gets bigger it was already big enough in Guernica a boy flees runs away clasps a dog in his arm that dog is already dead the newsreel spares you nothing shows just a sharp effect that dog is dead that child clasps in its arm something utterly worthless that child will also die soon it was for nothing all was for nothing fear is a companion walks beside you does not look at you you don't feel him but if you feel if you feel the fear for what's coming you think later it comes again the war comes again the air turns bad then you also think about someone who won by a hair's breadth a man with little children who looks almost like us it looks like he also didn't want war as if he didn't understand anything of us as if he understood my companion fear as if he just wanted to be on friendly terms with his wife you never saw anything like that with people who make war astonished with tears in your eyes you read in the paper that someone like us declined war that someone was young and didn't want war so it seemed a short while he won a hair's breadth on fear it was not much he was shot dead anyway you think about that when you look around you and see that fear is close by

Richter Roegholt [1925-2005]

Original title: 'Angst is dichtbij' - From: Maatstaf 8, novembernummer 1967 - Uitgeverij Daamen NV, Den Haag.