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Rain in the Night (as translated by George McWhirter)
It rains in the night
on the old roofs and the wet streets
on the black hills
and on the temples in the dead cities
In the dark I hear the ancestral music of the rain
its ancient footfall its dissolving voice
More rapid than the dreams of men
the rain makes roads through the air
makes trails through the dust
longer than the footstep of men.
Tomorrow we will die
die twice over
Once as individuals
a second time as a species
and between the bolts of lightning and the white seeds
scattered through the shadows
there’s time for a complete examination of conscience
time to tell the human story
It rains
It will rain in the night
but on the wet streets and black hills
there will be no one to hear rain fall
— Homero Aridjis
Tr. George McWhirter
