Testo Fire in the mountain Long Distance Calling

Fire in the mountain

[Excerpt from the opening scene ("Before the law") of "The Trial" by Orson Welles, based on the novel by Franz Kafka]

The man growing childish in old age,
he begs the very fleas
to persuade the guard to change his mind and allow him to enter.
His sight has dimmed,
but in the darkness he perceives a radiance
streaming immortally from the door of the Law.
And now, before he dies,
all he's experienced condenses into one question, a question he's never asked.
He beckons to the guard.
Says the guard, "You are insatiable! What is it now?"
Says the man, "Every man strives to attain the Law.
How is it then that in all these years, no one else has ever come here, seeking admittance?"
His hearing has failed, so the guard yells into his ear,
"No one else but you could ever have obtained admittance!
No one else could enter this door! This door was intended only for you!