I feel your steps in the hall
I feel in every nerve your hurried steps
that go unnoticed otherwise.
A wind of fire sweeps around me.
I feel your steps, your beloved steps,
and my heart aches.

Though you pace far down the hall
the air surges with your steps
and sings like the sea.
I listen, prisoned in gnawing restraint.
My hungry pulse beats to the rhythm of your rhythm,
to the tempo of your gait.

translated by Nadia Christensen