TOO CLOSE FOR YOU TO SEE ME

So close,
I live
even closer
much too close for you to see me

Avoid the storms,
and the ditches
swarming with nettles in the rain,
the heavy branches lowering
to where the bravest ankles twist,
the ponds that overflow with toads
where you would linger and listen.

there, in that place,
as close as that,
bathing in moonlight
and the sun,
step aside and you may find me,

way too close
for you to see me

Sylvie M. Miller
translated from the French

ORIGINAL IN FRENCH