That day, infinity, as if for fun,
took on the colors of honey and soot.
The horse cries of factory whistles strove to express it.
Knife grinders ambled through backyards with sparks
in their wake like homeless storms.
A squad of soldiers marched from the firing range.
Students circled the university.
From the cellars rose the perfume of apple orchards.
A train shoved through the narrow streets.
Black spruce trees cast black shadows on the lawn.
On a band, a cat, soft as a dream, was sleeping.
Someone practiced piano scales.
Someone else lay dying in a long room.
That day, infinity, as if for fun,
assumed the form of a flock of sparrows, and changing shape,
danced over the grass.