In the Blinding Glow

^{translated from the Yiddish by Daniel Kraft}

In the blinding glow of urban electricity
my poem binds itself with burning wires:
its first stanza, about stars, disintegrates at once;
its second stanza, about the moon, hides like a shadow.

In planes and trains and cars and in the steam of transatlantic ships
my poem trembles, feverish, as in a stormy wind:
its first stanza, about footpaths, hides in the dust;
its second stanza, about creeks, feels a child’s shame.

In cities and countries, in wandering and migration,
my poem is wounded as if by terrible combat.
Its first stanza, about roses, bleeds immediately;
its second stanza, about dreams, suffocates in the night.