A meadow
And a river
There was someone
I forget

Through the
River straight towards me
Surging steadily onward
My feet planted on the earth
I was soon overwhelmed

Was it a thousand years ago
Or was it only yesterday
So many dead
Who’d grasped at deadwood and at dregs
Was it a Monday or was it a Wednesday
Whirled and swirled into the depths
So many loves
So many oaths
Washed clean and clear
Was it ten o’clock or was it twelve
With shriek upon shriek the waterfowl
Had bound the drawstrings of the night
They were basking in the sun
A summer with mascara smeared
Releasing a breath through a reed on the shore
Who was it stepping through the passing waters
Ws it I
Was there someone else
I forget

translated by Jean Carpenter Efe