The End

J. Slaverhoff

When deep inland I lived before
Ceaseless grief gnawed in me
As vulture gnaws the liver for
I knew no land would hold me more
And sought it on the sea

But now I have sailed far and wide
And lay on the ocean alone
Where Tristan nor Ascension
Even at the edge of water shone
I feel the backward tide

That draws towards the far brown land.
I know now there's no peace for me
On the earth none and none at sea
Only at that last slender quay Of wood in sand.

Translation by Erik Schwimmer