Poor Ruth
seems she was called Ruth
though the carpenters wondered
the nurse
you remember
she drowned herself
hid
the bottle from her old man
he didn’t find it
in the water barrel
out in the kitchen-garden
he found Ruth
she was sticking out of the barrel
of water
only it was
her legs sticking out
Ruth was small
and it was raining that evening
the barrel was running over
obviously she climbed up there that evening
to look for a bottle in the barrel
felt around
couldn’t reach it
couldn’t stand it
dived in
poor Ruth
the carpenters
laughed put out
you can imagine
what sort of
funeral
poor
Ruth
really
*
the telephone
we hurry
through the village
enter the house
“Moscow’s put the phone down”
we sit wait
a heavy sort of atmosphere in the hut
the owner sits there
inactive
“Having a rest at last?”
“No, the cow’s ill”
waiting for something here
that’s why there’s this heaviness
the dear creature’s lying there
stretching its neck
cut its throat
or it’ll get even thinner
or wait a bit
they wait
wait
Translated by Daniel Weissbort
Page(s) 163-165
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