Zbigniew Herbert: A halt (poem)

A halt

We halted in a town the host
ordered the table to be moved to the garden the first star
shone out and faded we were breaking bread
crickets were heard in the evening weeds
a cry but a cry of a child otherwise the bustle
of insects of men a thick scent of earth
those who were sitting with their backs to the wall
saw the gallows hill now a violet hill
on the wall the dense ivy of executions

we were weating a lot
as is usual when no one must pay

Translated by  Bogdan and  John Carpenter
Source: Vilenica Almanac 1991