All day long I’ve thought of you Cecile!
Because today was your birthday.
A day you have celebrated in Heaven for a long time,
Struck down in the middle of your youth
By a merciless disease.
…………………………………………..
I haven’t forgotten you,
You, my comrade in First Communion,
And my girlhood friend.
…………………………………………..
Yet only a few things Remain with me
As a testimony to our affection:
A faded photograph,
And a small white lilac bush
That you gave to me, in secret,
From your parents’ flower-garden.
…………………………………………..
The lilac hasn’t blossomed much (it’s in a windy spot),
But I’ve never dreamt of
Changing its place,
For fear it might die,
And nothing more would remain
With me
Of what had been yours.
March 1962.
Translated by Lenora Timm
