Brief reflection on an old woman with a barrow

Given an old woman and given a barrow.

I.e. the system old woman O and barrow B.

The system is moving from the paved yard Y to the corner C,

from the corner C to the Stone S, from the stone S

to the forest F, from the forest F to the horizon H.

The horizon H is the point where vision ends

and memory begins.

Nevertheless the system is moving

at a constant velocity v,

along a constant path,

through a constant destiny,

renewing its impulse and its meaning

from within itself.

A relatively independent system:

in landscapes from horizon to horizon

always just one old woman with a barrow.

And thus we have, once and for all,

that geodetic unit, the

unit of travel there and back, the

unit of autumn, the

unit Our daily bread, the

unit of wind and lowering sky, the

unit of the distance home, the

unit As we forgive them, the

unit of nightfall, the

unit of footsteps and dust, the

unit of life-fulfillment Amen.

Copyright Credit: Miroslav Holub, “Brief reflection on an old woman with a barrow” from Poems Before & After. Reprinted with the permission of Bloodaxe Books Ltd., www.bloodaxebooks.com.

Source: Poems Before and After (Bloodaxe Books, 2006)