Eeltsje Hettinga 13/11/2018

Europe – The Names

It’s crowded on the coasts of Europe.
Tourists, drunk in the sea, swim past wreckage
from the boat that brought the refugees,
an inconvenience that spills over
in the sun-lit olive-grove evenings,
Skyping and emailing home
laments about their spoiled fun.

Hotel rooms with a view of tents and
camps, a razor-wire realm that traffics
flesh and people. Eyes at the fence
sink like boats in the night.
It’s crowded on the coasts of Europe.

 

 

Translated by David Colmer