This poem is taken from PN Review 142, Volume 28 Number 2, November - December 2001.

Ochre Night (translated by Marilyn Hacker)

Marie Étienne

I take the train the way I always do
Once at my destination, I forget
My overcoat in the train compartment.
I go back for it, dawdle
                                      The train leaves
But the next station isn't very far
It's like Brussels, where the train turns in-
To the subway
                      It's the month of August
The summer is familial we rent
A villa that looks out over the beach
One day, suddenly, I cry 'Where's Clara?'

One day, suddenly, I cry 'Where's Clara?'
My sister's expression seems to imply
It's all my fault
                         Clara comes back though I
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