saved two children last night
They lay under thin black ice
one gone blue the other grey.
I laid them out on grass
that snaped under my step
wrug their bodies warm and dry
gave them the gust of my breath.
Then I looked out at the morning
that lay lukewarm on the water
put on a tank top
arranged some grasse in vase
fished two children out of sleep.
Translated from the dutch by Jacuelyn Pope
collected from POETRY APRIL 2009 Edition.