In these huge English parks
It happens that in these huge English parks
The gardener doesn’t have time to fumble in the blackthorn
Bushes, to search around in the grass,
So as to collect all the dead rabbits or water fowl.
The corpses decompose. After a while,
Everything eatable has been disposed of by foxes and worms,
The skeleton continues to bleach out, washed by the rains,
Until it is entirely wasted away.
You must understand, the gardener doesn’t have time today
Or any day. However, the presence of death and decay
Is not seen as a betrayal
Of park art, but simply as change,
Like leaves, which unfurl and then fall.
But not as if they were dying; rather, as if at play.
London drops its buildings, like an oak its leaves,
An ancient pub loses its stucco in the same way too.
Mould blackens its walls, and gold
Letters are missing on the sign above.
It’ll stand there like that, falling apart,
Until somebody buys it, lovely as a crocodile.
You must understand, the gardener just doesn’t have time.
Translated by Daniel Weissbort
Page(s) 275-276
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