O the childish fear of loss
By Lyrikline Collaboration Poets
By Vera Pavlova
Translated by Jena Woodhouse
O the childish fear of loss
with which the first-form girl
gropes inside her dress, her chemise
for the key on a ribbon
next to her skin: it’s here!
And she clasps it to her heart,
because Daddy and Mummy have gone to work.
Will they come home? Who knows…