From “Hearts, Books of Love” [“We pass through,—flocks of white geese”]

By Hélène Dorion
Translated By Susanna Lang

Translated from the French

We pass through,—flocks of white geese
strip the seasons, above us
a few red and ocher leaves
gasp at the tips of their twigs, yield
 
                      soon they brush against us, soon they pile up
                      at our feet, everything turns back to the wind
                      that torments your voice.
 
Those days will return, the garden cannot bloom
without the rain shower that assails it
and then falls asleep, peaceful
the child still in tears.

Notes:

Read the translator's note by Susanna Lang.