As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.
And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
“Love has no ending.
“I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
“I’ll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.
“The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.”
But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
“O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.
“In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.
“In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.
“Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver’s brilliant bow.
“O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you’ve missed.
“The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.
“Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.
“O look, look in the mirror?
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.
“O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.”
It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.
Mentre caminava un vespre
pel carrer Bristol avall,
la gentada a les voreres
com bladars a punt del tall.
I l’amant arran del riu
sota un pont del tren cantava
aquella cançó que diu:
“El meu amor no s’acaba.
“Fins que Àfrica i Xina es trobin
amor meu t’estimaré,
i el riu salti la muntanya
i el salmó canti al carrer.
“T’estimaré fins que el mar
s’assequi i es tregui el vel
i les set estrelles grallin
com les oques dalt del cel.
“Els anys corren com conills,
però als meus braços es fon
la Gran Flor de Tots els Temps
i el primer amor del món.”
De sobte tots els rellotges
varen brunzir i repicar:
“No deixis que el Temps t’enganyi,
que tu no el podràs guanyar.
“Allí on el malson s’amaga,
on la llei és en desús,
el Temps que vigila a l’ombra,
en lloc de besar-te, tus.
Quan hi ha maldecaps i tràngols
la vida lleument se’n va
i el Temps se surt amb la seva,
ara mateix o demà.
“A moltes valls ben gemades,
la neu és com un esmalt,
el Temps trenca les rotllanes
i del qui es capbussa el salt.
“Enfonsa les mans a l’aigua,
enfonsa-les-hi golut;
mira’t, mira’t a la pica
i pregunta’t què has perdut.
“La glacera és a l’armari,
el desert sospira al llit,
l’esquerda de la tassa obre
un camí cap al neguit.
“On els pobres rifen xecs
i en gegant encanta en Jack,
on el milhomes fa “ecs”
i la Jill s’enduu un batzac.
“Oh, mira’t, mira el mirall,
mira en la teva dissort;
la vida és un do de Déu
malgrat el teu desacord.
“Oh, estigues a la finestra,
de llàgrimes amarat
estimaràs el teu veí mentider
amb el teu cor poc honrat.”
Era tard, molt tard al vespre,
els amants s’havien fos;
els rellotges no tocaven
i el riu baixava, calmós.