Monday, May 25, 2009

Segmented

In langen Zügen kriecht am Boden das Gewürm.
Imagine the procession, that fifth day,
after all the impressive creatures
the line of moist grey bodies
pulling their segments in, stretching them out,
making for the nearest bit of dirt.
Disappearing one by one.

"You got good soil here,"
says the handyman, digging.
"Lots of worms."

He turns the clods over and there they are,
curled around dandelion roots:
dirt-eaters, leaf-shredders,
tunnel-makers.
Slimy things without eyes.

Vollendet ist das große Werk.
Job done, he waits for pay.
Der Schöpfer sieht's und freuet sich.
Sets down the spade. Says:
"She's ready for planting now."


[Quotations are from Haydn's oratorio The Creation.
In langen... In long procession the worms creep along the earth.
Vollendet... The great work is completed.
Der Schöpfer... The creator sees it and is pleased.

1 comment:

sms said...

I really like this idea a lot. I'm wondering though if you might want to separate the German from the stanzas a bit more. Do you want to attribute the German at the top as well?

again, I'm tying broad beans and enjoying this work very much