Benny Andersen
Time  
 

We have twelve clocks in the house  
still it strikes me there's not enough time  
You go out to the kitchen  
get chocolate milk for your spindly son  
but when you get back  
he has grown too old for chocolate milk  
demands beer girls revolution  
You have to make the most of your time while you have it  
Your daughter comes home from school  
goes out to play hopscotch  
comes in a little later  
and asks if you'll mind the baby  
while she and her husband go to the theater  
and while they're in the theater  
the child with some difficulty  
is promoted to 10th grade  
You have to make the most of your time while you have it  
You photograph your hitherto young wife  
with fullblooded gypsyheadscarf  
an opulent fountain in the background  
but the picture is hardly developed  
before she announces that it is nearly  
her turn to collect social security  
gently the widow awakes in her  
You would like to make the most of your time  
but all the time it stays away  
what becomes of it  
was it ever there at all  
have you used too much time  
in drawing time out.  
You have to make the most of time in time  
roam around a time without time and place  
and when the time has come  
call home and hear  
"Are you calling 95 94 93 92?  
That number is no longer in service."  
                                                   Click.
Translation by Alexander Taylor
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