there are not only hints to the "kindertotenlieder" but also to the poem "funeral blues" by w.h.auden which starts similarly to "vater":
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
there are not only hints to the "kindertotenlieder" but also to the poem "funeral blues" by w.h.auden which starts similarly to "vater":
"Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
the poem can be seen here http://homepages.wmich.edu/~cooneys/poems/auden.stop.html, it has even been sung: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slDNSH7a84c.