A True Story of Daily Life - Hans Manz

My next-door neighbour,

a Chinese guy from Hong Kong,

sweeps, whenever he reaches for his broom,

first my doorstep,

and then his own.

He doesn’t know our saying

“Sweep in front of your own door first.”

I do know. But lately

I’ve given it up, and sweep,

whenever I reach for my broom,

first the doorstep of my neighbour,

the Chinese guy from Hong Kong,

and only then my own.

So when he comes home after work

or I come home

our doorsteps are always clean

and the old rules have been swept away—

away with all that once kept us apart.

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Hans Manz (1931 - 2016) Switzerland

Translated by Lane Jennings

Source: LyrikLine