TOWN AT THE WADDEN

Three islands float on the horizon
When the haze allows. Lads come and watch,
When the mail boat turns, that along the dike a
Plume of smoke lowers, pale brown before the sun.

Winters last long here; the sparse greenery
Contains a stilled winter in its branches.
And in the courtyards, quiet spaces,
Not even a murderer would a murderer be.

The threefold pavement, yellow bricks,
Coloured cobbles, blue, round stones:
Many years bearing the same bones,

Because in the evening, with the gait of quiet drinkers,
Men saunter smoking to the docks -
Along the harbour - and back to the docks.

Vertalingen en bewerking “Town at the Wadden” © 2010, Henk de Kruyff.

Stad aan de Wadden

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