"I Worship Sunrise": Four Poems by Gun-Aajav Ayurzana
I worship Sunrise,
Oh, my morning!
And worship Moonrise,
Oh, evening twilight!
Just one in a thousand rays
Is enough for the Light.
Time is measured
By legends of the Light.
Darkness falls to the ground,
Light flies in the sky.
The existence of light in the sky
Is known only in flight.
Through the dark blue evening
A cold wind whistles.
In the cold black sky
Red cranes fly.
__________
How old is the mosquito
Squashed between the pages
Of the ancient sacred sutra?
From which age
Did the spirit of an insect
Just fly by?
Is losing yourself
Like finding yourself?
Oh, it's raining,
The valleys and hills are white.
Oh, to run in the rain
To the foggy mountain!
Will the wind be strong enough
To turn the rain-soaked page?
__________
When Time takes a break
I take a deep breath,
And when it continues on
I heave a sigh.
When Time takes a break
I fall in love,
And when it continues on
I come down from Heaven.
When Time takes a break
I write poems,
And when it continues on
I drop my pen.
When Time takes a break
I open my eyes,
And when it continues on
I stare at Death.
__________
EASTERN POEM
Such happiness
To see the sunrise on the steppe!
When I feel its calm light
I forget my sorrow.
To breathe such air,
To be human is enough!
Oh...
After that, let God take his brush
And write that I'm dying.
Such truth
To hear a branch breaking somewhere!
-- translated by the author and Christopher Merrill
