My folks could never grasp

That I didn’t hate, just love.

One dank and dismal dawn

It turned to hurt and pain

The regiment formed the square

The bugle called, and with one accord

The enemy, and the man I adored

Marched off without a care.

THE PLUM SONG

That year as the plums were turning

From the north a horse and wain

Came to town one early morning

Driven by a fine young man.

As we gathered in the harvest

The stranger laid aside his hat

Stretched himself out in the meadow

Fell to watching this and that.

As we stewed the plums that summer

He was generous with his fun

Smiling stuck his purpled finger

In our saucepans one by one.

As we sat us down to eat them

He was long since up and gone

But, believe us, we could never

Quite forget that fine young man.

SAUNA AND SEX

Fuck first, then bathe—that’s what I advise.

You wait till she bends down to take the bucket

Admire her naked arse before you fuck it

Then take her playfully between the thighs.

At first you have to hold her in position

Then she’ll sit on top and rub her quim

Along your cock until her juices swim.

But then, and in accordance with tradition

She’ll wait on you. She pours the boiling water

In generous splashes on the fizzing stones

She whips you sore with slender birch-tree switches

Till in the scalding steam your body twitches

And you refresh yourself just as you ought to

And sweat out all that fucking from your bones.

WEAKNESSES

You had none

I had one:

I loved.

WHEN I LEFT YOU, AFTERWARDS . . .

When I left you, afterwards

On that great today

I saw nothing, when I began

To see, but gaiety.

Since that evening, that hour

You know the one I mean

Livelier is my stride and more

Beautiful this mouth of mine.

Greener are, now that I feel,

Meadow, bush and tree,

The water is more lovely cool

That I pour over me.

MY LOVE GAVE ME A LITTLE BRANCH . . .

My love gave me a little branch

With yellow leaves on.

The year goes to its end

Love has just begun.

SEVEN ROSES THE ROSEBUSH HAS . . .

Seven roses the rosebush has

Six belong to the wind

But one remains so that I’ll have

One rose to find.

Seven times I’ll call your name

Six times stay away

But promise me the seventh time

You’ll come right away.

WHEN IT IS FUN WITH YOU . . .

When it is fun with you

Sometimes I think then

If I could die now

I’d have been happy

Right to the end.

When you are old then

And you think of me

I’ll look like now

And you’ll love a woman

Who is still young.

SMOKE

The little house among trees by the lake

From the roof smoke rises

If that weren’t there

How cheerless they’d be