Abraham Sutzkever

1913 - 2010 / Smorgon, Russian Empire

Blackberries

'Hungry warriors! Let us gather
Black berries in the night.'
An idea to remember:
Black berries in the night?

Darkness. Just a yellow owl
Playing cards in dark of night.
In the forests green with firs —
Black berries in the night.

Crouching over, creeping out
To the berries in the night,
Goes an army with its weapons,
Gathers berries in the night.

People, gotten used to killing —
Kneeling for a grass at night.
For like flutes they pipe their magic,
Black berries in the night
And the glowworms play along
And the yellow owl laughs bright.
91 Total read