We present this work in honor of the poet’s 85th birthday.

 

The time came to see my life
with other eyes like a memory
left behind while searching for eternal emptiness,
frantic not to miss a sign I might interpret
from my dreams. Now I see reality
naked, without imaginary or real faces,
without love, life’s spring, youth,
without the enthusiasm for every little creative act.
If I take down all the decorations
from the old reality
will I get closer to the truth?
But how to conceive of truth
if it isn’t full of living air?
No answer there. I sink into the night
and try again.

Translation by Karen Van Dyck