English followed by une version en français y una versión en español.

The way it is

For weeks we held our breath

Afraid the war would spread

And wishing that the strength of our wishing

Might stop the bombing, death

And when the rubble seemed sufficient

The camps with tents supplied

The bankers came up with a number

For what they thought our debt

Français

C’est ainsi

Longtemps, nous retenions le souffle,

Craignant que la guerre ne s’étende.

Nous gardions un espoir que la force de nos souhaits

Pourrait mettre un terme à la mort.

Et quand les décombres étaient suffisants

Et aux camps des nouveaux tentes,

Les banquiers ont avancé un chiffre,

Ignorant tout de la dette.

Español

Tal y como es

Retuvimos la respiración por mucho tiempo

temiendo que la guerra se propagara

y deseosos de que nuestros deseos

detengan a la muerte

Y cuando los escombros fueron suficientes

a los pobres nuevas carpas

los banqueros valuaron la suma

sin saber nada de la deuda

— Poem(s) and photograph by William Eaton.

The featured photograph is of residents and soldiers riding a bus in Pyongyang, North Korea, 2013. It was used on the covers of a useful two-volume set of textbooks: the late Michael H. Hunt’s The World Transformed: 1945 to the Present (Oxford University Press). I have been able to find the photograph on a Korean Web post, but have not been able to identify the photographer. Unfortunately, as I am a great fan of the photo. (Which is certainly in the tradition of Robert Frank’s famous 1955 photo: Trolley—New Orleans.)