Am I Guilty Poem by Abraham Sutzkever

— Am I guilty, must I pay for guilt?
And to whom: the present or the past?
— No difference, you fool, there is a guilt,
You may be a mistake — but pay you must!

— Was I created of my own free will?
Think about it, please, and spare your scorn!
— Nothing to think about, don't ask what, when,
And do not hang your faith on any thorn.

— Am I and Fate a one or strangers two?
If two, reveal — I'll beat him to the ground!
— Decide yourself. In the flash of your pain
You see him in the stormtroopers around.

May 1942