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The Dapperstraat


translated by Sakaama & Atmo, 1997

Leave nature to those empty or contented
And then: what's left of nature in this land?
A little wood, the size of a postage stamp,
A hill, residences stuck onto it.

Give me the grey urban streets.
The water firmly held between brick moorings,
The clouds, so beautiful when framed
In attic windows, they drift along the sky.

Anything is a lot, when you expect so little
Life keeps its wonders hidden
To suddenly reveal them in a divine state.

I thought about all this,
Soaking wet, one drizzly morning,
Simply happy in the Dapperstraat.

from de Dapperstraatvariaties