Rapid train [Acceleratul]
Over beeches rising high
The cold twilight gently falls.
The dumb evening passes by
And through forest quickly crawls.
At the sunset, in the dark,
One can see a ruby spark
Among branches thick and dull...
From the foliage thick retreats
Still are heard in this deep lull
Little birds that sing in tweets...
Cold and pale in the clear sky
Many stars now catch the eye.
***
Suddenly comes from the hills
Rumor deep, without delay,
Flat and very far away,
Like the whisper of a spring
Heading for the water mills...
On the floodplain starts to swing
Fills the other vales with thrills
And with clamor...
Here it is!...
A black lightning, sleek and long,
Carried by the wings of storm
Shakes the ground quiet and warm
Running quickly all along...
Or rather it flies or swims
And at once will disappear –
Eats the road and spits flames bright
And in clouds as black as night
Cuts the forest without fear...
It is gone...
And on the plain
Forging noise will stop again
Slowly, until no one hears...
In the distance...
Disappears...
***
One by one, come out with ease
Of the bushes, of the trees,
Many birdies half asleep,
Looking not at all prepared,
Just to peep,
For they are scared:
– Hey! What happened around here?...
Chirp in chorus, loud and clear,
Wrens and finches from the rear.
And a tit, up a dwarf beech,
With its feathers ruffled much
Answers with an eerie screech
And upset tries to explain:
– Well, it's nothing weird as such,
Has just passed the rapid train...
poem by George Topîrceanu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by Octavian Cocoş
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Related quotes
In the forest thick and stout [La mijloc de codru des]
In the forest thick and stout
All the birds are coming out
Of the cold and gloomy shade
Into the delightful glade,
Near the clear and little lake
Where the reeds will gently shake
And afraid of being drowned
Stick their roots deep in the ground,
Where the moon and stars will shine,
Where the birds will cross in line,
Where will stay the moon and sun,
And the swallows will not shun,
For it mirrors my dear one.
poem by Mihai Eminescu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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Snow
The poor ducks paddle in the partially frozen pond.
Farmers’ fields are covered with thick snow beyond.
Bewildered sheep, keep warm in their thick woolly coats.
On toboggans, cheerful children slide down slippery slopes.
Insects and fallen fruit are suddenly nowhere to be found,
By birds and animals, who forage for food upon the ground.
Kindly householders throw out cake crumbs for the birds,
But among the mammals, murmurs of discontent are heard.
Everywhere in sight is decorated with a thick layer of snow;
The world all about, is now either at a stop, or on a go-slow.
Cars slowly wind their way down the narrow country lanes.
The day sees dozens of delays on the slowly running trains.
Delayed or cancelled, are the large fleets of local buses.
In this weather, the whole world crawls: it never rushes.
Drivers furiously scrape clean their frozen windscreens,
Impatient for this world of white to turn back into green.
To the joy of children, many primary schools have been shut;
Many deliveries to households and businesses have been cut.
People in tiny, remote villages are snowed in, and can’t get out.
Clearing the roads, an army of snow-ploughs are out and about.
The skeletal trees, at last, have got some winter decoration,
And are now looked upon with some degree of admiration.
The snow is thick, and will take many a day to disappear;
It will take a while till the road ahead is once again clear.
poem by Angela Wybrow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Foxfire Suite
This song appears on three albums, and was first released on the different directions album, and has also been released on the gift you are and the john denver collection - rocky mountain high a
.
Spring is alive
Spring is alive
In carolina
Deep in the forest
Where the foxfire glows
High on a mountain
Down in a holler
Thunder and lightning
So it goes
Over a hundred years ago
We came to carolina
Far across the water
Its a long hard road
With little more than courage
We came seeking independence
A little less than nothin
Is a heavy load
From the heather of the highlands
We have found the smokie mountains
Hard work and simple ways
And life is good
Life is good
Spring is alive
In carolina
Deep in the forest
Where the foxfire glows
High on a mountain
Down in a holler
Thunder and lightning
So it goes
You are
You are every morning sunrise
You are every rain
You are every peal of laughter
You are every cry of pain
You are all the summer flowers
You are all the falling leaves
You are everyone rejoicing
You are everyone who greaves
You are all my unknown secrets
You are all my hidden fears
You are known in lovers kisses
You are seen in childhood tears
You are where the stars are shining
You are where the rainbow ends
You are why the war is over
You are how the peace begins
Whisper the wind
Whisper the wind over the water
Whisper the wind all through the night
Whisper the wind along the canyon
Whisper the wind into the night
Whisper the wind brothers and sisters
Whisper the wind all the same
Whisper the wind love one another
Whisper the wind your precious name
Spring is alive (reprise)
Spring is alive
In carolina
Deep in the forest
Where the foxfire glows
High on a mountain
Down in a holler
Thunder and lightning
So it goes
Over a hundred years ago
We came to carolina
Far across the water
Its a long hard road
With little more than courage
We came seeking independence
A little less than nothin
Is a heavy load
From the heather of the highlands
We have found the smokie mountains
Hard work and simple ways
And life is good
Life is good
Spring is alive
In carolina
Deep in the forest
Where the foxfire glows
High on a mountain
Down in a holler
Thunder and lightning
So it goes
Words and music by john denver
song performed by by John Denver
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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There Were Late Afternoons As A Child
There were late afternoons when as a child
I would see the tall popular trees
making the pale blue sky seem much higher
where they grew next to the old farm dam
with there branches whispering
in the early night breeze,
with doves and finches calling
from their nests in the shelter of these trees,
when an early moon would appear
and the evening star would suddenly start twinkling
blue-white in its sheer brightness against a darker blue sky,
like a mother goose leading all of the other stars.
There were early evenings when the sun
died with its deep red glow touching
the hillocks that were covered in sugar bushes,
and red flowering aloes,
when the scent of protea flowers was sweet on the air,
when blue changed to darker black,
when darkness came suddenly
and a myriad of stars sparkled all over the sky
while in the distance fires came to life
at the rural mud huts, while jackals
and dogs started to howl at the bright yellow moon,
while I knew that mother would be home soon.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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There Were Late Afternoons
There were late afternoons when as a child
I would see the tall popular trees
making the pale blue sky seem much higher
where they grew next to the old farm dam
with there branches whispering
in the early night breeze,
with doves and finches calling
from their nests in the shelter of these trees,
when an early moon would appear
and the evening star would suddenly start twinkling
blue-white in its sheer brightness against a darker blue sky,
like a mother goose leading all of the other stars.
There were early evenings when the sun
died with its deep red glow touching
the hillocks that were covered in sugar bushes,
and red flowering aloes,
when the scent of protea flowers was sweet on the air,
when blue changed to darker black,
when darkness came suddenly
and a myriad of stars sparkled all over the sky
while in the distance fires came to life
at the rural mud huts, while jackals
and dogs started to howl at the bright yellow moon,
while I knew that mother would be home soon.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Visualize and Wonder
Night-blue, starlit river
like a ribbon across the rugged land,
reflecting a transition of the heavens
traveling from night into morning
rushing into a churning, tumbling lake
just below the mighty waterfall
icy black water in a tiny loch,
rippling like deep emerald history
ancient and wise, impenetrable mystery
smelling musty, like fresh earth,
or old books in a dusty library
the heartache glows like hot iron.
doused in this unexpected chilly water
taking away the anxiety and uplifting
thoughts come clear and clarifying,
like breathing jackfrost puffs of winter
dark walls rising up on three sides,
cradling morning in a ragged half circle
of smoothe, mossy and black mountain rock.
I love the embrace of this old rock tarn
Where the dusky green hills flow aside,
and a single worn path skirts the pool
carved, perched in a long, curved niche
above the cold, ice-fed water on one side
And stops here, just aside the curtain
that carries light in crystal swirls
from the far path on the other side
dark lines and mist converging in dew drops
Inside illusions building up like movies
Is this a time, or a place?
Or a dream of simple pleasures?
the heartache glows like warm sunlight.
Is this reality? Broken reality?
Illusions tumble apart, leaving void
Patient, comfortable void, filling me
from below the navel and up, breathing out
Close my eyes. I am smiling,
forgetting to breathe, to see,
just swinging like a slow pendulum
swinging, breathing in and out
with the open sky behind me,
and this tarn of closing dark magic,
not evil, only dark and cloudy,
like black mist obscuring an autumn night
where low above the skeletal trees
is a faint, full circle of greenish light,
that is the light on the other side,
but deeper than the night sky,
colder and further down, under the earth
exploring wide, dark caverns,
leading deeper down still,
into a black hole filled with rushing water
watching the edge of the walls rush past
and I am falling, into a wide dark void
filled with stars, and a golden light
spilling down from where the water flows in,
the droplets fling themselves into the cosmos
becoming more stars in the dark emptiness.
In the back of my head is a glowing
fading into the dull roar of massive water
Beyond the curtain of crystal clear
the light is still glowing,
the cavern, still calling.
I yearn for it, looking back as if...
hoping that I have the strength to turn back
to step through, into that world.
The morning above and behind me now,
Steep, green slope before me,
I cross out of the shadows of the tarn,
into the shafts of morning's honey
walking paths of thin brown dirt,
crossing up and down the deep green hills
into the giant woods atop the mountain
where the knowledge of flora is found
The curling mists around the tree roots
shifting and crawling deeper into the shadows
lifting simple, joyful song birds
into the morning sun and clouds.
Here between the dark forest floor,
and the vaulting forest canopy,
I am framed for a moment, looking back
at the dark V of the tarn
and the winding slip of the river,
leading away into the rocky mountains
a terrain pale and fading quickly
against the morning sun breaking free.
The dawn is so wonderful, awakening.
Light pink cuddles in the wisps of far off cumulus.
Whirling into the fall of rosy twilight tears.
Within the trees, I follow the mists
retreating into the forest depths.
Muzzy and gray, this day has yet to wake.
poem by Poet Dragon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I have one last caprice [Mai am un singur dor]
I have one last caprice
When evening falls on me
To let me die in peace
By the majestic sea.
To have a pleasant sleep,
The woods to be nearby,
Wherever I shall peep
To see the clear blue sky.
No banners at my head,
No coffin dear or suits,
But weave me a nice bed
Of green and tender shoots.
Don't wail with gloomy face
And gather all around,
The autumn with its grace
Will lay leaves on the ground.
And when I hear the tune
And feel the spring how stirs,
Above will glide the moon
Through branches and through firs.
The bell will gently quake
When wind is running free,
The linden tree will shake
Its branches over me.
And since I quit my quest
For I am stiff and cold
I'll cherish when I rest
My memories of old.
The morning stars will rise
From shadow with much ease,
They'll friendly light my eyes
And smile above the trees.
The sea will mourn and play
A music of its own...
But I'll be dust and clay,
Forgotten and alone.
poem by Mihai Eminescu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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Pastel poem [Pastel]
At sunset, from beyond the peaks,
Red blinks at dusk in silence glow
They break in small and shining streaks,
Which into shaded Danube flow.
The murky waves bury them all
And under osiers downstream,
On water hardly shake and crawl
Like orange peel, or so they seem.
Down there, above the forest, soon,
Where shrubberies are dark and wet,
Rises the handsome crescent moon
And sparkles from a minaret.
And, as if painted with this goal,
The island casts its shadow long,
Cut from the world, playing the role
Of a medieval castle, strong.
Looks like a ship charmed near the shore
Which anchored at the mountains' feet,
A wonder dreamed and waited for
By the old Danube's water sheet!
In the clear nights, calm, half asleep,
It waited for the morning bright,
To get out of the water deep
And come to surface in the light
A floating garden, purest one,
With trees and birds that sing in tune,
With flowers laughing at the sun,
But trembling scared under the moon.
poem by George Topîrceanu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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New Season
Up from the hills and down through the valley,
A stream whispers unendingly a fading melody,
As it continues on its aimless journey.
The blazing heat scorching innocent vegetation,
Green leaves gently fading to brown.
The grass shriveled up;
Wilted, forgotten and began to die.
Up high in the treetops birds yet sing their songs,
In ritual of prayers to their gods.
Their songs heard even beyond the blue skies.
Suddenly everything changes,
From elsewhere came the darkening clouds;
Stopping over.................,
The shadow obscuring the sun.
Then the rumble of the rolling thunder
overpowers the birds gentle songs,
The mighty thunder scares the birds.
Trees fall silent as the clouds darkens thick;
It sends down a single drop;
Then another and yet another one.
They patter on the leaves then onto the ground.
In no time the mighty delude overpowers the streams
as it floods to the banks swallowing dirty from the bush.
It cleans the forest as it prepares for the new season
to rein.
As the downpour ceases;
Like birds even trees shake drops of rain to the ground.
The birds tease the summer as it runs away from the
coming season, They bid farewell to it.
The branches swing as they rejoice
to welcome king Autumn.
Vegetation sinking beneath the earth,
Holding firm; it begins to grow in full bloom.
With flowers all over
Giving thanks to the mighty AUTUMN.
poem by Moffat Mbuzi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Showery October Afternoon
It is a showery afternoon water drips from the trees
But it's not cold a mild Spring day perhaps twenty degrees
In late October in the hills you do get days like these
When morning sun give way to showers though cool enough the breeze.
The black faced cuckoo shrike is back from places far away
A bird you never can mistake in cloak of silver gray
And in the wood the high pitched voice of the gray currawong
These birds you come to recognize by their distinctive song.
On the high gum tree in their nest young magpies chirp and call
And October in the Dandenongs the loveliest month of all
The high paddocks of Belgrave South are looking lush and green
And Mother Nature beautiful as lovely as I've seen.
The migratory welcome swallows back in the hills again
They fly low o'er the paddocks the flies are low in rain
My favourite Season of the year has always been the Spring
In storm and rain and sunshine the wild birds chirp and sing
This morning pretty butterflies flitted around the flowers
But the afternoon turned cloudy and sun gave way to showers
In October in the Dandenongs you do get days like these
A day of showers and sun shine water dripping off the trees.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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End Of The World!
pan fried tators,
grilled trout,
cool clear spring water.
smoke rising slow,
the coffee starts to boil.
black crows circle,
eyes down in the brush.
clouds chasing forever,
nowhere else to be!
night fall coming,
you can feel the trees whisper.
mountains in the distance,
nod without a word.
curl up together
to the crackle of the fire.
while the old dog watches
for the end of the world!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Sun Over The Sea Died
Slowly the sun on the sea died away,
with sunset glowing over Table Bay,
in the distance at the end of day
did the Robben Island lie somewhat grey.
Waves rolled in breaking on the beach
while the island was away, out of reach,
in the evening stars were in the black sky,
while the full moon hang yellow and high
with glittering water catching the eye,
quickly did the romantic evening fly
and your soft tender hand were warm in mine
while our blooming love felt somewhat divine
and the day did very slowly decline
with lights on the sea drawing a straight line.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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On the train [În tren]
It's racket, the train is ready to go
All sorts of weird strangers now get in the car.
It's seven and ten, my worries do grow,
I turn to the window, I'm feeling bizarre.
Hey, driver, go on, we've got rather bored,
It's time, blows the whistle, a rumor is heard,
I feel that is moving, O, help us, Good Lord!
The dark hasty shadows pass by like a bird.
The voice of the sorrow is silent right now,
I'm wiping my forehead, I'm squeezing my eyes
My soul seems to waver and I'm feeling low,
Hey, driver, go on, before my heart cries!
We're leaving behind, as we pass through the lands,
Tall signals, and switches, and cars, and white steam.
We see people passing, with flags in their hands,
While this shiny train goes fast like a stream.
Goodbye and farewell pretty town and dear friends,
Goodbye, my dear past, so sweet, but still vain!
At curves, when the train is creaking and bends,
I open the window and hail you again!
The town stays behind and shines in the light,
But churches and houses will soon disappear.
In front, a green blanket fills me with delight
And this crazy train is quick like a deer.
The scenery changes – some sights gray and dim,
A plain, on which shadows of clouds now repose,
A road all alone, a small forest, grim,
With dry trees on which one can see nests of crows.
The whole earth is spinning with very much ease
And so is the ground of this flat and large plain,
We're going ahead like a swift summer breeze,
While white railway chalets are watching the train.
poem by George Topîrceanu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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A Halloween Story
It all begin as grains of sand,
covering a place both wide and flat
open to the moonlight as Luna rises.
When the first breeze blows,
from a whisper to a howl and back
the dead trees, like skeletons,
shiver from cold and fear.
One by one the trees uproot
crackling and rustling, yet silent.
The open space becomes bigger
as they retreat from old knowledge,
waiting for the tide to rise.
One younger stays behind and watches.
Stares at the sand, and ponders,
reaches out and touches it with a root.
The elders, black and dead,
the home to owls and spider webs,
already mourn the youth.
At a touch the grains flicker
like starlight come to life for a moment.
Black shadows, where spirits might hide
if they weren't afraid, too, creep upward.
The sand begins to bubble,
darkness shifts and flows with purpose.
Youth is lost on the youth, foolish youth.
Its root, pulled back at the darkness,
has turned black and gray with ash.
Like torpid terror the ash crawls
up the root and outward, up the trunk
to where leaf and branch shake
and fruit falls like tears of regret.
Now the sand heaves and towers
over the remnant of the youth.
Quickly dispersed by the wind,
dusty ash rises up into the dark clouds
gathering over a moon now red.
The ceremony is nearly met.
Tiny, pitch black grains of sand stand up,
now given meager life by this evil,
and run away as individual thoughts.
Past the trees they scatter, screaming
warnings and imprecations and horror.
The grove stands its ground,
given purpose and meaning by this night.
Where the sand once was, now a bulge grows
pale, even in the blood of the moon.
Rising higher and higher,
until even the clouds eschew the sky.
This abomination is pale like bone
covered by an aura of black so deep
that its meaning has never been needed
except for this moment, this single instant.
A terrible beast smiles at the night
and a tongue of rancid mold slips out
between teeth like tombstones.
When the world begins to shudder
at the presence of this cancerous evil,
the grove moves, and moans as it goes.
Lightning laughs from the clear sky,
lashing out at the wood song's meaning.
Calling back the black sand, to its duty,
repairing the wound in the veil.
Frozen images cover the wound
where the pale monster rose up to consume,
like moonlight shining through stained glass.
In the images, spirits swirl and play,
calling back to their master, no longer afraid.
Their night is over.
All in the space of the moon crossing the sky
these events took place: the running,
the rising, the loathing, and the calling.
Now come the true screams. Painful and
invigorating they slip into cracks
where humans cannot hear them, but they shudder
and they flow, across the wound, into it.
As the beast is put to slumber once more,
sand grains poised as cowards among the tree roots
run out and jump into their place.
A flat field of creeping black.
Then the black flows inward, to the center,
and downwards to the depths and is gone.
And the trees settle once again around the clearing
to again await the culmination of their existence
next Halloween.
poem by Poet Dragon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Evening Star [Luceafărul]
There was, as in the fairy-tales,
Back in the distant time,
Of royal blood, which still prevails,
A girl sweet and sublime.
The only child, with no constraints,
And fair and full of charms,
Shining like Mary among saints
And moon among the stars.
She glides through the majestic halls
As if she slowly skates,
Goes to the window where befalls
That Evening Star awaits.
Above the sea he always stays
For rises and shines bright,
Along the moving water ways
Guides all the ships at night.
And seeing him, wish burns her cheeks,
She's thrilled from head to toe;
He watches her for many weeks,
And love begins to grow.
While musing happy at her goal
And resting on her arm,
Deep in her heart and in her soul
She's longing for his charm.
How bright he then begins to burn
Night after night, with grace,
Above the palace black and stern,
Where she will show her face.
* * *
Then follows her; she's not upset,
For he dispels the gloom,
From chilly rays weaving a net
Of flames inside the room.
And when she needs a little rest
And on the bed she lies,
Touches her hands placed on her chest
And closes her sweet eyes.
And from the mirror – antique piece,
Light spreads throughout the place,
On her big eyes, which sleep in peace,
And on her lovely face.
She looks at him and smiles, it seems,
He glimmers in the glass,
Because he follows her in dreams
For she's a pretty lass.
And in her sleep she whispers low,
Her heart beats like a drum:
– O, prince of night, which always glow,
Why stay away? Do come!
Climb down, my star, so meek and kind,
Slide on a ray tonight,
Pervade the palace and my mind,
And in my life bring light!
He hears and shivers in the sky,
Burns harder, feeling free,
Then plunging quickly from on high
Sinks deep into the sea.
And where he falls the water's stirred
Makes circles, there's no doubt,
And from the depth – a thing unheard –
A handsome lad comes out.
He passes through the window pane
Without making a sound,
And in his hand he holds a cane
On top with reeds around.
Looks like a ruler, young and proud,
With soft and golden hair,
And on his shoulders hangs a shroud,
Which flutters in the air.
He seems to be a piece of ice
And has a pale white face –
A pretty corpse with lovely eyes,
Two coals burning with grace.
– I've left my sphere with pain and sigh,
Because you've told me: Come!
My father is the starry sky,
The sea is my dear mom.
To be now here, inside your room,
And stroke you with my rays,
I left behind the heaven's womb
And I was born from waves.
– O, come, my jewel from afar
And leave the world aside!
I am the lofty Evening Star
And you will be my bride.
You'll live in palaces with me,
For centuries you'll stay,
And all the creatures in the sea
Your orders will obey.
– O, you are gorgeous in my dreams,
Like angels you can talk,
But on this charming way it seems
That I shall never walk!
Weird are your clothes and what you've said,
And lifeless is your glow,
I am alive, but you are dead,
Your eye is cold as snow.
* * *
And one by one passed three more days
Then, in a starry night,
The Evening Star sent down his rays
And flooded her with light.
So she remembered him with ease
Although was fast asleep,
And craved her prince born from the seas,
Because her love was deep:
– Climb down, my star, so meek and kind,
Slide on a ray tonight,
Pervade the palace and my mind,
And in my life bring light!
As soon as he perceives the sound
His light goes out in pain,
The sky begins to turn around,
The movement is insane.
The flames which burn up in the air,
Spread all over the place,
And from the chaos, somewhere there,
Takes shape a lovely face.
On his long hair as black as night
There is a burning crown,
He floats on truth, as a brave knight,
And wears a fiery gown.
With a black shroud again is clad
His marble arms show grace,
Looks very thoughtful, bleak and sad,
And has a pallid face;
But his big eyes, which show delight,
Are lit by a small spark,
Two endless passions in the night
Profound and full of dark.
– I've left my sphere and here I run
Because you've told me: Come!
My father is the burning sun,
The night is my dear mom;
O, come, my jewel from afar
And leave the world aside!
I am the lofty Evening Star
And you will be my bride.
O, come, to hang in your blonde hair
Bright stars, looking like gem,
When in the sky you rise up there
To outshine all of them!
– O, you are handsome in my dreams,
A fiend with whom I talk,
But on this charming way it seems
That I shall never walk!
Your ruthless love burdens my brain
My heart cannot survive,
For your big eyes give me much pain,
Their flames burn me alive.
– How would you want me there to be?
I have a life ahead,
I am immortal, can't you see,
Whereas you'll soon be dead?
– My thoughts are simple and sincere,
Yet, words are not at hand –
Although you speak so loud and clear,
I cannot understand.
But if your love has any worth
And it is not a sham,
Come down and live upon the earth
Be mortal, as I am.
– You ask my immortality,
For a romantic touch,
I think it's a fatality
To cherish you so much;
Yes, I'll be born again from sin
To live by other law,
My fate for ever is to spin,
But I want to withdraw.
And went away driven by love
And by the child's sweet gaze,
Leaving the place he had above
For many, many days.
***
But in the meantime, Catalyne,
A buttons shrewd and neat,
Who fills the goblets with red wine
When people drink and eat.
A page who walks behind the queen
Her wondrous gowns to hold,
A bastard child, a stray sweet teen,
With glances sweet and bold,
With cheeks like roses, eyebrows raised
And with a blushing face,
At Catalyna looks amazed
Tucked in a hiding place.
He sees her beauty and her stance
And on the spot he's struck;
Well, Catalyne, this is your chance
To go and try your luck.
And thus he hugs her from behind
But in a gentle way,
– Hey, Catalyne, what's on your mind?
You'd better go away.
– What's on my mind? I think you guess,
I want to feel the bliss,
So, I won't let you go unless
You give me a sweet kiss.
– I do not know what you request,
Please leave and stay afar,
My heart is pounding in my chest
And craves the Evening Star.
– If you don't know, then I'd be glad
To teach you lovers game,
Only don't fuss and don't get mad,
Be lenient and tame.
As does the lonely hunter who
Lays traps and trusts his charms,
The moment I reach out to you
Embrace me with your arms;
And let your eyes, so pure and chaste,
To readily submit
And when I gently grab your waist
On tiptoe rise a bit;
Then, when you see my face is bent
Raise yours and don't be shy,
We shall remain embraced, content,
Until it's time to die.
To understand then fully how
The lovers' hearts do burn,
When kissing you, I'll slightly bow,
You'll kiss me in your turn.
She listens to the playful child
Amazed and ill at ease,
Now she is shy, now she is mild,
Now wants, now disagrees,
And says: – I've known you for so long,
A child astute and fair
And talkative and good and strong,
We two could make a pair...
However, came an Evening Star
And I did not foresee
That he would give a charm bizarre
To the secluded sea;
I keep my lashes lowered now
The teardrops fill my face,
Because I see the ripples how
They go towards his place;
He glows with a tremendous love
And watches me with care,
But he remains so far above
That I can't touch him there.
To light the world he is all set,
Like a majestic star...
For ever I shall love him, yet
For ever he'll stay far...
That's why my days do not seem right
And I want them to end,
But all the nights bring me delight
That I can't comprehend.
– You're just a child, let's run away
In the wide world, my dear,
They will forget our names one day
And so we'll disappear.
We'll be secure and we'll be glad,
Our souls will have no scars,
You will forget your mom and dad
And all the Evening Stars.
* * *
The Evening Star moved in the sky
With his impressive wings
And many thousands years went by
In just as many winks.
A starry sky there was below,
Above a starry sky –
He seemed a streak, a constant glow
That wandered there on high.
And from the chaos, from the bay,
And from his frozen sight,
As in that first and holy day
Flowed lights ablaze and bright.
And they surrounded him in haste
As water waves, how weird...
Driven by longing then he raced
Until they disappeared;
For where he went there was no bound
Or eyes to look about,
And time fought hard and moved around
From hollows to get out.
So, there was nothing, yet there was
A thirst, more like a threat,
A deep dark chasm, just because
It lured him to forget.
– Untie me, Father, from the chains
Of an eternal life,
May you be praised on all domains
And may your years be rife;
O, Lord, ask anything from me,
But listen my demands,
A spring of life you'll always be
And death is in your hands.
Remove the aura from my head
And the immortal dove,
Be good and offer me instead
An hour of true love...
From chaos I was born, no doubt,
In chaos I'd return,
And from the stillness I came out
For stillness now I yearn.
– Hyperion, who from abyss
Rise in the world in flames,
Don't ask for marvels, signs and bliss,
Which have no face, no names;
You wish to be a man, but how
To be like other men?
If all the people died right now
They would be born again.
And their ideals, right and clear,
Seem lofty, but are dumb,
When many ripples disappear
More ripples quickly come.
They look for lucky stars in space
And fate stops short their breath,
We do not have a time and place
And we don't know what's death.
From the eternal yesterday
Rise all and then decline,
If a bright sun now died away
Another one would shine;
But though it seems to stay alive
Death treats him with deep scorn,
For all will die after they thrive
And then again are born.
– But you, Hyperion, will last
Whenever you decline...
This thing I promised in the past –
My wisdom is divine.
How could I let that mouth to speak
And sing and to be free?
It would collapse the mountain peak
Deep down into the sea.
Or do you wish to show your worth
Your justice and your reign?
I'd give you every piece of earth
To make it your domain.
And all the masts I'll give to thee
And armies and much wealth,
To cross the earth and the wide sea,
But I can't give you death...
Tell me, for whom you want to die?
Go back now, turn around,
Look at that planet from on high
And see what's on the ground.
* * *
And in his place again he stays
For in the sky returns
And like in all the other days
His light in distance burns.
Now it is evening all around
Soon will begin the night;
The moon is rising, there's no sound,
The sea reflects her light.
And with her sparks borne by the breeze
She fills the forest lands;
Beneath a row of linden trees
Two youngsters hold their hands:
– O, baby, let my head to lie
Upon your breasts with care
And look at me with your sweet eye,
Which is so clear and fair;
Then with the charm of the cold light
Go deep into my brain,
Pour the deep silence of the night
Over my pangs of pain.
Don't go away, but stay above
And stop the sorrow stream,
You are my first and caring love,
But also my last dream.
Hyperion sees from the skies
Amazement on their face:
When his warm hand on her neck lies
She gives him an embrace...
The scent of lindens quickly spreads,
Their blossoms fall like rain
On top of those two children's heads
Fair-haired, who there remain.
Intoxicated by this love
She lifts her eyes and... lo!
The Evening Star is right above
She craves now for his glow:
– Climb down, my star, so meek and kind,
Slide on a ray tonight,
Pervade the forest and my mind,
And in my life bring light!
He shivers as it did before
On hills, in woods and caves,
While guiding safely to the shore
The lonely moving waves;
But doesn't fall as did one day
Into the foamy sea:
– Why would you care, O, face of clay
If it is him or me?
You live to beg the luck and fate
Your world is small, controlled,
But in my sphere I'm feeling great,
Immortal and so cold.
poem by Mihai Eminescu, translated by Octavian Cocoş
Submitted by anonym
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Ich habe dich nie je so geliebt
I never loved you more, ma soeur
Than as I walked away from you that evening.
The forest swallowed me, the blue forest, ma soeur
The blue forest and above it pale stars in the west.
I did not laugh, not one little bit, ma soeur
As I playfully walked towards a dark fate -
While the faces behind me
Slowly paled in the evening of the blue forest.
Everything was grand that one night, ma soeur
Never thereafter and never before -
I admit it: I was left with nothing but the big birds
And their hungry cries in the dark evening sky.
poem by Bertolt Brecht
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A Camel's Dream
When he deserted me
I deserted water
When I deserted the water,
it lost its shine crying.
Trees were growing dark in their places
in the woods; that evening he came to take me
with him clearing the thick glow of the sunset hues
then came he to make a path a kind of road
At the end of the road
I became the back he can ride
deserting many things I so long have to long for
while I look at the village
through those green trees
with my deep eyes
I saw him waiving at me
to bid me goodbye.
I was already entering the desert
and a portion of his road became the whole
the entire road for me.
For the borders of the nation he ruled
were the horizons of the four directions,
the sand hills I walk on with him on my back
were always the initial spot I had departed.
Numerous mornings and evenings met
on the rooftops of the sandhills where the
next morning and the sun crossed.
Originally what he wanted from me
was some amount of water he could use,
always in the shape of the water
I obeyed him.
At the same speed as the sunlight speedy
falls on the ground, stars fell.
With the power of the star-falls
the water soaked itself down to the ground
and then to
the roots of the sands.
Whenever his forehead shined
with full of heavenly words
and thirstied,
I dug up the roots of the sands
where the water gathers and kept it
in my body.
When the sun rose,
everything except the sands were
under the power of the sun;
when the wind blew,
everything along with the sands were
under the windy flows.
There I took out the water from my body
and washed his dry face.
When he loved me
I had a large amount of waters.
When he was communicating with someone
in heavens,
I listened to the music the sands were making.
Many trees were there with no shadows,
and the worlds I look through those trees were
always moving forward.
Through those trees the wind blew.
The thicket-bushes were weeping
and there came about some animals
who loved the bushes, and the one
who rides on my back
lets things to be ruled ruled
lets things to die dead.
He stands the trees and the animals
that resemble each other on their spots
then he passes by.
In the mean time he took out the water
from my body numerous times
and drank it to cleanse his body.
His songs made the sand hills
create echoes to echo
to ring through the regions afar.
When he finally changed the desert into the sea,
at its open entrance
I began to grow old all alone.
Though I wanted to serve him on the sea
he walked away from me
onto the sea.
Many years have gone by
and come along and
for me not to serve him on the sea
meant to go back to the desert, and
the sea had turned into the desert back again.
At its entrance to the sea,
I could not become a small boat for him.
All day long, I was lonely;
all night long, lonesome for days.
When he left me, I deserted the water,
I deserted again the act of deserting
and by deserting it, I no longer was left
to exist.
poem by by unknown author (22 June 2003), translated by Sangnam Nam
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The Black Dog
When I was mischievous and playful,
My dreadful uncle made me afraid of dog,
Soon I became horrid and pale,
My mother sheltered me in her lap,
Singing a lullaby lulled me asleep,
I felt flying over the forest,
Thick, dark and shadowy,
Landing into the deep steeps,
Chasing a black dog behind.
poem by Muhammad Shanazar
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Summer Sonata
Rotten fruits smell stunning.
Bushes and trees sound sunnily,
Swarms of black flies sing
On the brown forest glade.
In the pool's deep blueness
The light of weed-fires blazes.
Hear sudden love cries whirring
From yellow flower walls.
Butterflies chase themselves for a long time;
Drunkenly my shadow dances
On sultry meadows of thyme.
Brightly ecstacized blackbirds trill.
Clouds show stiff breasts,
And wreathed by foliage and berries
Under dark pines you see
A skeleton play the violin grinning.
poem by Georg Trakl
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Bare-Back Rider (A Lucid Dream)
He was a stallion
A big black horse, I was
Astride his back, muscular, bare
Hanging on to mere tufts
of his shiny black hair
I don’t know how I got there
It seemed like a dream
Me on this big horse galloping
through a dark forest thick with trees
with gnarly branches reaching for me
Terrified I crouch as low as I can
Try to grip the horse’s flesh
but I couldn't so I hold on
to his mane for dear life
and with a prayer I close my eyes
Don’t throw me off
Don’t let this forest take me
Don't leave me here
This nightmare will devour me
Please go slow dear horse
Don't stumble and fall
Be careful of the rocks
And branches hanging low
But he would not go slow, oh no!
He was on a mission
To where I didn’t know
I had no choice but to hold on
Clinging for my life
Praying the branches won’t
Hit him in the eyes
So I stay there like that, eyes shut
My body as close to to his as I could get
My face pressed to his neck
I cry, wracked with fear
Certain I would die right there
After a while, after what seemed like ages
And nothing happening
Only the sound of hoofs
and the wind whipping
I suddenly realize...
This horse is bigger than me
If the branches don’t hit him
How can they hit me
He is not afraid of the dark
If he's not afraid of dying
Why should I be
Slowly I sit upright
Slowly I open my eyes
The scenery had changed
The rider and the horse are now
One and the same
poem by Sonya Florentino
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