The great storms
are behind you now.
Back then you never asked
why you were or
where you came from, where you were going,
you were simply a part of the storm,
the fire,
But it’s possible to live
in the everyday as well,
the quiet gray day,
so plant potatoes, rake leaves,
or haul brush.
There’s so much to think about here in this world,
one life’s not enough.
After work you can roast pork
and read Chinese poetry.
Old Laertes cleared brambles
and hoed around his fig trees,
and let the heroes battle it out at Troy.
Olav H. Hauge (translated by Robert Hedin)