Years later Poem by Hanny Michaelis

Years later
one clear afternoon
full of sober sounds
and the hustle and bustle in a house
that never knew you,
I suddenly remember
how gentle your eyes would become
when you looked me in the face.

And for a moment you appear before me,
unmistakably yourself, coming across unexpectedly
out of timelessness.
So gentle are your eyes
that they reconcile me
to your departure, swifter
and more unexpected than your arrival.

Translation: 2009, Judith Wilkinson