Wishes for a Peaceful and loving Christmas

Explain to me love

Explain to me love
but speak softly, silently,
not louder than the snow
covering the twigs, grass, pathways.

Don’t read to me how Orpheus laments,
rather tell how light makes signs over the water.

I do not wish to know how Lear whines
just tell to me about how the spinning wheel hums
while creating the thread of waiting.

I do not want you to let me know
how Cyrano uses flattering words
for there is no comparison with an “Ah!” in a quiet chamber.

Explain to me love
which allows two trees to grow
so that in the rustle of their leaves
uncertainty fades slowly away.

Matthias Bronisch, Germany

Translation Germain Droogenbroodt- Stanley H. Barkan