817 | WE WERE ALL BLOWN AWAY

Painting by Jinta Hirayama, Japan

WE WERE ALL BLOWN AWAY

We were all blown away

Blown to the right

Blown to the left

Blown this way and that

Blown headlong

It was too wild to breathe

To think

To pray

To lament

How long did it last?

It seemed like an eternity

The howling wind

Then someone said,

‘It’s over . . .’

But it had only just begun.

GABRIEL ROSENSTOCK, Ireland

Translated by the poet

from “Riders on the Storm”, Kallatumba Press, San Francisco