p My clock is not the sun that rides the skies
And not the heart that pulses in this breast.
My pace is measured by this steady Earth that flies
Along its orbit, never stopping for a test.

p Night follows day in regular succession
Above the continents resembling screens in motion
With roads and rivers like gay ribbons flashing
Across their face framed by the heaving ocean.

p In time soft spring gives way to summer’s grandeur,
The whirl of falling leaves—to sweeping snow.
I dread to think of all this coming to a standstill
If only for a moment—who can know?

p This heart may freeze—this sun forever hide,
But you, my Earth, my last support, spin on!
Don’t let me fall upon the darkened side
Where night will reign, daylight forever gone.

Translated by Dorian Rottenberg