August Stramm, "Storm" and "Battle" (1914) August Stramm (1874-1915) was a civil servant and reserve officer with a predilection for experimental poetry. He was an enthusiastic supporter of war and saw the violence of war as a restorative property. He died on the eastern front in 1915; prior to his death he attained the rank of battalion commander. Stramm captured the sights and sounds of war with a thoroughly modernist sensibility, evoking the symbolism of Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Verlaine.
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page 1 of 2 I. “Storm” (1914) Black bares itself in white The playfully gay blue mists scowl yellow like hail. Brightness flares Presses to the ground. Raging Stoned Shut! Deathly mad clings to the night. Feebly opening its veins Extending out in blue Trembling in the trees Weighs heavily Lifts itself Bares its fists Square-edged, hard and sharp Clouds ring out Fears light up It stands and stretches itself Seizes the gurgling And chokes it Lunging towards it Stifling itself Gobbling, rolling Into The Void! Eye Lids open and wail! Tears Waves Loosening Terror! Lights Glare High in the arch! Sounds Pulsate Free Strong Winning sounds of the sun!
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