Narrow Street - Judita Vaičiūnaitė

Where the yard like a sea shell guards
        the tiny graceful church,
where green shutters and windows open
        onto the sooty snow,
on the pavement's cross section,
        onto clay lives,
        and the depth under peat,
where the tree's holiness rotted,
        where the sun's magical circle
still guards the fireplace flame,
        and the green bronze sand,
the bear's thousand year old mask,
        the boar's teeth amulet,
the ghostly enchancing dance above it -
        in medieval clay,
where the alley deepens
        towards the Neris' missing ford.

---

Judita Vaičiūnaitė (1937 – 2001) Lithuania
Translated by Laima Sruoginyte

Source: Vartiklis