integrities
1
as sand vanishing
to nothing in wind
have any save none
lived for so long
I ran to meet you
dying on
2
as light that can never
see itself
as none can lie still
falling free
I see your eyes
see
3
as water that bears
itself to death
you give what is yours
time that goes
semen
tears
4
as the grass growing
into your body
the body withering
into its mind
mind spreading out
over skin
5
as warmth as a summer
remembered to emptiness
we dream of joy
unknown unguessed
and into us looked
something else than ourselves
6
as paper at rest
while a word passes
sorrow gone white
joy in its blackness
I want to know nothing
you walk by my side
7
as snow in its purity
white and alone
only a few days
only a few
and ever
the earth returns
8
as the bed opening
and closing open
darkness and light
I am cold I am hot
the body preserves
the world
___________________
Inger Christensen
It
translated by Susanna Nied
New Directions
2006
