A moon gate in my wall: собрание стихотворений

Nothing is left to write of any more,
all that there is to say was said before:
all is recorded — every human breath.

The poets have discussed God, love and death,

the seasons and the land and water here,
cities around us, and the atmosphere,
creatures from the amoeba to the auk,
including beings that can sing and talk.

All you need do is listen, gratefully,

to Swinburne, or Verlaine, or Po Chu-i.

7 Mar. 1956

528. Nocturne («Late twilight in October…»)

Late twilight in October.
Stillness hangs
above primeval marshes like spun glass.

Escaping lightly from the reaching arms

of scrawny birch, the moon,
opaque and naked,
drops her seventh mist.

No rustle stirs

the elderberries. Sorrowful, a loon
raises his pointed head among the blades
of marsh grass; even he does not invade
the silence with habitual complaint.

This is when

suddenly, passing high above, departing cranes
cry out between the earth and moon
urgently, clearly, for a rapid moment;

the marshes bear their soft

provocative and wistful voices,
high in the air, yet ultimately close;
then they are gone.
And in their wake
the first large timid snowflakes
dim the moon.

15 Feb. 1957

529. «There is something you want to say…» [237]

There is something you want to say —
thoughts gurgling in your brain,
words choking your throat.
Say them, say them before you stop breathing,

see the darkness converging upon you

from the sky — from the shore — from the water —
The circles upon the water grow large and flat
and disappear altogether,

and the surface is silent.

Speak out — call loudly
and say all those turbulent words,
cry lustily

so that the shores will echo,

then whisper softly
those last compassionate words,
and all will be dark, dark.

1 Mar. 1957

530. «There was hoarfrost on the lawn this morning…»

There was hoarfrost on the lawn this morning
at dawn.
The seagulls were flying inland from the ocean,
to the warm earth and the grass.

They were gray in the early light

against the November sky.

1957

531. Night Dance