Berglyrik II: Satis Shroff

WHEN THE DREISAMTÄLER MOANS (Satis Shroff)

The blackbird's melody

Is no longer to be heard,

The wooing time is over.

I still see him in the shade

Of the birch trees,

Thinking about his small world.

Watching bird families in the garden,

As they flutter and dash

From the bushes to the trees.

A moment here a moment there,

Ever on the lookout,

Ever on guard,

Against winged or feline predators.

Patience at breakfasttime or at dusk,

Is rewarded by moments of joy and elation:

When a blackbird pair pick the grapes

And ripe cranberries with their yellow beaks.

A starling pays you a visit,

And a titmouse comes to pick

A few corns in the birdhouse.

In the afternoon even a robin

Drops in to take a fast bath.

At dusk when the Dreisamtäler moans,

Silence prevails in the Schwarzwald.

I muse on the shortness of the day,

And long for the night.

Glossary:

Dreisamtäler: a wind that blows in the Dreisam Valley