Like Holderlin
got up early
left the house immediately
tore out grass
bits of leather in his pockets
hit fences with his handkerchief
answered yes and no
to his own questions
lies under grass
wilted flowers in his pockets
at the fence I pull my handkerchief
he liked to say no
“I’m no longer the same man”
and
“nothing is happening to me”
Copyright Credit: Rosmarie Waldrop, "Like Holderlin" from Another Language: Selected Poems. Copyright © 1997 by Rosmarie Waldrop. Reprinted by permission of Rosmarie Waldrop.
Source: Another Language: Selected Poems (Talisman House Publishers, 1997)