Yesterday four dark horses
grazing in their paddocks
the rich green grass
under a brilliant blue sky
and all around trees
in autumn meltdown
but the scene one of peace
of indifference to the passage
of time and the coming
and going of seasons
or the coming and going
of their mounts : horses
living off the fat of the land
with no agenda
John Lyons
Horses for as long as I can remember
grazing in the field that borders
a cemetery attached to a Norman church
Work horses that do no work and sometimes
gather in the centre of the pasture
or under the shade of the old oaks
that line the northern perimeter
Week after week fresh graves are dug
in the burial ground that seems never
to run out of space : through gaps
in the fencing people stop to feed
carrots on which the horses chomp
without a care in the world
John Lyons
Des chevaux pour autant que je me souvienne
Qui pâturent dans le domaine qui borde
Un cimetière attaché à une église normande.
Des chevaux de travail qui ne travaillent pas
Et parfois se rassemblent au centre du pâturage
Ou à l’ombre des vieux chênes qui marquent
la limite du périmètre nord.
Semaine après semaine, on creuse
de fosses fraîches dans le cimetière
Qui ne semble jamais manquer d’espace :
Profitant de trous dans la clôture
Les gens s’arrêtent pour offrir des carottes
Aux chevaux qui les mâchent
Sans le moindre souci du monde.
Caballos allí desde cuando yo recuerdo
Pastando en el campo que bordea
Un cementerio junto a una iglesia normanda.
Caballos de trabajo que no trabajan
Y a veces se reúnen en el centro del pasto
O en la sombra de los antiguos robles
que marcan el límite del perímetro norte.
Semana tras semana, se cavan
nuevas tumbas en el camposanto
Que nunca parece quedarse sin espacio:
Aprovechando huecos en la cerca
La gente se detiene para ofrecer zanahorias
Que los caballos mastican
Sin el menor cuidado en el mundo.
Cavalos lá desde quando me lembro
Pastando no campo que fica ao lado
Do cemitério de uma igreja normanda.
Cavalos de trabalho que não trabalham
E às vezes eles se reúnem no centro do pasto
Ou à sombra dos antigos carvalhos
Que marcam o perímetro setentrional.
Semana após semana escavam
novos túmulos no cemitério
Que nunca parece ficar sem espaço:
Aproveitando buracos na cerca
As pessoas param para oferecer cenouras
Que os cavalos mastigam
Sem a menor preocupação no mundo.
Horses have been grazing in that field
for as long as I can remember
It’s a roughly square basin of a field
bordered by a road on three sides
and on the southern side by the wall
of an old cemetery attached
to a Norman church : the burial ground
never seems to run out of space
with fresh graves dug every week
But the horses live in a different world
Sometimes they gather in the centre
of the pasture but on warm days
they seek out the shade of the oaks
that line the northern perimeter
and through gaps in the fence people
will stop to feed them carrots
which the horses chomp with
unaffected nonchalance
seven or eight horses that appear
never to change— and why should they ?
John Lyons
johnjosephlyons 