In the garden by Jan Eijkelboom

In the garden 1 In the garden I look up from my book and see the confidence of bees entering the flower of a Himalayan balsam, now and then bumping into seed-cases that, silently exploding, spread their well-aimed black seed. Insecure I start reading again. 2 I did plant a little tree when I turned sixty, hoping that it would get enough light and some air between the trees that were already there in a time before I existed. In its shadow children will not know who, with spade, manure and water briefly worked here with the soil.

Jan Eijkelboom 1926 - 2008 [photographer unknown]

Original title: In de tuin From: 'De wimpers van de dageraad' - Uitgeverij De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam - 1987. Translation: Hans van den Bos