[Julie Steiner]

Mirabeau Bridge
(tanka sequence with haiku refrain)

The Seine keeps flowing
under the Mirabeau Bridge -
and our loves also -
I need to remember that
joy always follows sorrow.

And when night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remain

Holding hand in hand,
let us sit face to face while
underneath the bridge
of our arms pass eternal
gazings on such weary waves.

And when night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remain

Love is flowing fast
away, just as these flowing
waters flow away
slow as life itself flows by -
how violent Hope becomes.

And when the night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remain

The days passing by,
the weeks passing by - and yet
neither our past time
nor our loves return - under
Mirabeau Bridge flows the Seine -

And when night's bell tolls
the days take their departure -
I alone remain

--Translated by James Kirkup