Adam Zagajewski

Line Four


I only write about the dead,
one beggar said.
Summer will be starting soon.
On the Porte de Clignancourt-
Porte dd'Orléans line you always catch the odor
of burnt paper; an inquisitive rat
at the Saint-Michel stop seems to ask:
what century is this, dear sirs and madams?
I waded slowly through this day.
Once again I missed what's most important.



trns. by Clare Cavanagh


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