I open it in lamplight,
the yellowed book smells of grass and mould.

I skim the pages, a rain-like sound is born
and a thin wind passes from page to page

and over the battlefield.
The smoke of cartridges disperses like dandelion fluff.

Din; silence. Many horses roam
and horseless men. Through shutters

country sounds and smells. Swallows' shrill cry.
Fennel, and cow parsley. Poppy, dandelion fluff

and on the pages of the book, wisps from cartridges.
The soft ring of the lamp encloses the battlefield.

- Eeva-Liisa Manner.

Picture: Joseph Cornell (untitled and undated but circa 1960-70)