Winter on the Island

in winter
solid trackways overgrow the sea
storms sift down to the bones of fishes

in winter
stonecracks grip the hawsers of a boat laid open
an arc of bruised sky shivers down the mast

for the dead, rough ends and days grown short

in winter
snails swell on frozen stumps
a snake stiffens on the side of the old temple

in winter
the wall drinks in the sloping fig
hardest of all, to plumb the deeps of beggary

zimi na otoku

zimi na otoku

zimi
na moru rastu tvrde staze
bura zapada ribama do kostiju

zimi
škrape drže uže rasutome brodu
jarbolom drhti klatež natučenog neba

za mrtve surost i kratkoća dana

zimi
u smrznute panjeve puževi zarastu
stvrdne se zmija u boku starog hrama

zimi
narušenu smokvu pije goli zid
najteže je neimaštinu uhvatiti na dno