Halley's Comet - Jaroslav Seifert

I saw nothing at that moment,

             nothing but strangers' backs,

heads under their hats craning.

The street was crowded.

I'd have liked to scramble up that blank wall

by my fingernails,

             the way addicts of ether try to do,

but just then my hand was seized

             by a woman's hand,

I took a few steps

and before me opened those depths

we call the heavens.

The spires of the Cathedral down on the horizon

             looked as if cut out

from matte silver foil,

but high above them the stars were drowning.

There it is! See it now?

             Yes, I see it!

In trails of sparks which would not die out

the star was vanishing without return.

It was a spring night, sweet and mild,

             after mid-May,

the balmy air was laden with perfumes

and I inhaled it

             together with the stardust.

Once when in summer I had tried to smell

             — and only furtively —

the scent of some tall lilies

— they used to sell them in our market-place

in kitchen jugs —

people would laugh at me.

For on my face was golden pollen.

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Jaroslav Seifert (1901 - 1986) Czech Republic

Translated by Ewald Osers

Source: Informační systém Masarykovy univerzity (In: The poetry of Jaroslav Seifert, Translated by Ewald Osers, Catbird Press, 1998.