Sarah Kirsch
Mudflats III
I, the Erlking’s daughter / have an
Important appointment / with two
Apocalyptical Riders out on the mud / a
Tête-à-tête on shaky ground /
Now before day-break reddens.
Swirls of smoky fog / surprisingly
Hasty snow / create a nice
Sense of obligation / which imposes itself
On seagull-carcasses / coke-tins. The
Faded moon on its speedy way /
Between copulating clouds / declares
An admiration for the albatross / as it
Flies up from the South / while Jupiter
Illuminates the cow-shed / and then the oil-rig.
Happy Neujahr! signal the distress-flares /
And the boy from Büsum will never
Be found. The crows are falling /
Black apples / from the only tree.Reeling off her darkly
Sparkling lines / she reads of melancholy, wintry,
Wind-blown, lonely places. Of lemon-faced,
Waiting, cruel,
Disappointed people. And
Of furry, hungry, hunting,
Hunted creatures. Her world is
Hostile, secretive, beautiful
And indifferent. Our lives are isolated,
Painful, amusing, violent:
Translated by W. D. Jackson
Page(s) 71-72
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