Without You

My Pillow gazes upon me at

Empty as a gravestone;

I never thought it would be so

To be alone,

Not to lie down asleep in your hair.

I lie alone in a silent house,

The hanging lamp darkened,

And gently stretch out my

To gather in yours,

And softly press my warm

Toward you, and kiss myself, exhausted and weak-Then suddenly I'm

And all around me the cold night grows still.

The star in the window shines clearly-Where is your blond hair,

Where your sweet mouth?

Now I drink pain in every

And poison in every wine;

I never knew it would be so

To be alone,

Alone, without you.

Translated by James Wright