Kazys Binkis
Spring in Berlin
With paws stuck upward, lies Berlin.
That silly idiot – the moonBridled with cables, broken in,Smiles, goon!The close-cropped trees along the streetsDon't know if to unfold.But here, indoors, narcissi sweet.Begin to smile, all gold,Like babes in hungry sleep.The crocodiles sleep in the zoo,Apes, lions, donkeys too.Rich women in their villas sleep –They've nothing else to do.And the time is almost two.The trams and cars have stopped their dance,Their dawn-to-dusk quadrille,And one after another pranceTo their caves and stand still.In places lamps already wink,While higher crawls the moonBetween cathedral towers – just think,It's stuck, the old baboon!It grins still broader, goofy-face,It sighs and blows and then through spaceWarm streams of gentle air beginTo flow o'er slumbering Berlin.It tried to get into the zoo,The moon, but then it sawRich women take their clothes off: "Oo-oo!"The fool blushed pink with awe,And then behind the towers hidIts face, flat as a saucepan-lid.