JULIEN GRACQ (JULY 27, 1910-DECEMBER 22, 2007) Poem by Rune Christiansen

A boy does not speak the same language as a rabbit or a deer. An airport does not cry for help as a girl can cry for help. "At the bottom of the garden" does not mean "she is shaking with fever", but is from the same linguistic source. The one who says "let's prune these branches" probably understands the one who talks about time as an exhausting preparation. The tablecloth is being stained while we discuss. Of course we agree about chestnuts, rain, farewells - for what we understand, what we grasp, is our leavings.