726 | Traces – Germain Droogenbroodt, Belgium-Spain

Traces

The storm has quieted down:
the grains of sand mingled

with the algae on the beach,
traces of the raging
of violence.

But elsewhere the raging does not stop:
houses are set ablaze
there lie no algae
there lie the dead
like bloody traces
of a murderous war.

Hope

It is winter:
the chilly wind has torn off
the last leaves from the trees
which before were protection
and accommodation for the birds.

They shiver in the cold
but still whistle
because they also hope
for better times.

Germain Droogenbroodt
Translation Germain Droogenbroodt – Stanley Barkan

Painting by Christine Brunnock