Poem by the Norwegian writer Paal-Helge Haugen (1945- )

Late day, dreary light

Late day, dreary light

in through grimy panes

high up on a wall

some wall or other

in some room or other

in some century or other

In the straw on the floor the dog

an old scrawny bitch

with a swollen belly

is lying on its reeking bed

giving birth, twitching and convulsing

while the light leaves her

slants higher up the wall

Gives birth to wet life in the straw

goes on giving birth beyond all

meaning, all reason

into the night that enters

through panes, down walls

as the convulsions subside

in all the bodies