Urban Wetland
Ragged little wetland—
a flotsam of islands
fringed with hung-over trees
jetsam of floating cattails
a happy detritus of herons and egrets,
and cormorants’ cacophony,
stilling down in their night roosts here.
The path around
cycles us through rough days and smooth,
by the sallow water of city’s run-off,
airplane screams, the flensing freeways…
Yet the simple blood beauty of water
flows into and through–shining, reflective…
Any harboring of nature,
however hemmed in, will do.
Pantano urbano
Pantanito harapiento –
islas de restos flotantes
flanqueadas de árboles colgantes,
desechos de totoras
los felices residuos de garzas y garcetas,
y la cacofonía de los cormoranes,
silenciandose aquí en sus nidos de la noche.
El camino
nos circula por días ásperos y suaves,
por el agua amarillenta de la escorrentía de la ciudad,
chillidos de aviones y las carreteras que descuartizan
Pero la hermosura sencilla sanguinal del agua
fluye por dentro – brillando, reflejando…
cualquier albergue de la naturaleza,
Mary Lux, formerly a librarian, is exploring Minnesota as a new resident, interested in its watershed ways, its winter beauty, its prairie past and its history of indigenous and immigrant peoples. She practiced poetry for many years, in Wisconsin. She has published, participated in many poetry groups and readings.
*Translated by Sarah Degner Riveros