O, king
bones ground to chalk
the Herero cry in the dust
The Kaiser had enough
he sent General Lothar von Trotha
to impose his will,
the ending of the Herero
as a people
von Trotha says,
'I wipe out rebellious tribes
with streams of blood
and streams of money.
Only following this cleansing
can something new emerge.'
Ten-thousand heavily-armed men
and a plan for war
von Trotha says,
'the Herero, who in their blindness
believed that they could make successful war
against the powerful German Emperor
and the great German people
I ask you,
where are the Herero today?'
twenty skulls gather dust
in the drawers
of Germany
monument to anthropology
O, king
skulls in drawers
the Herero cry in the dust
Is our language ever rich enough
to name
the evil man has levied
Is sin enough
to encompass
the vast, the richness, the full
depravity
of our visits
to the Herero
O, king
bitter herbs, unleavened bread
the Herero cry in the dust