as though a layer existed between them
and the narrow strip of coastline
the clouds emerged, sharply cut
off at the lower edge, above
a wrinkled belt, in which the seagulls
punched small holes. at the next glance
the haze had ruffled the surface and the wind
was ensnared in nets of wire
just under the mirror of the water, the birds
had long disappeared, the sky
still holding for a little while the air
that rustled beneath their wings

translated by Hans-Christian Oeser, Gabriel Rosenstock and the author