TO A POET

You knew, then...!
For had you not known,
you would never have been able to say such things.

Strange twilight joy, that you also knew
all this heavy grief.
Your lost friendship wanders through centuries.
It calms fever's fire.
And when I fall asleep consoled,
it feels as though you sat by my bed, like father,
and held my hand.

For more information, please visit the website of David McDuff and his own pages with the translations.