Madrigal

by Tomas Tranströmer and translated by Tom Tredway

I inherited a dark wood where I seldom walk. But there comes a day when the dead and the living trade places. Then the woods will start to move. We aren’t without hope. The worst crimes remain unsolved despite the work of many police. Just so, there is somewhere in our lives a great unsolved love. I inherited a dark wood, but today I’m walking in another wood, the light one. And the living creatures that sing, wiggle, wag, and crawl! It’s spring and the air is really strong. I have a degree from the University of Forgetting, and I’m as empty-handed as a shirt on a clothesline.