The pigeons on this obscure meadow are completely black
and they don't cross the water in flight
they walk on bridges with stone steps
and parapets painted with egg tempera

maybe they are not real pigeons
and are as shrewd as magpies
like priors that contemplate the bottom of the canal
from astronomical belfries

maybe they are mortuary pigeons:
patiently they await

the high water
Translation: 2017, Matilda Colarossi