The evening cloud has formed above the deep ravine.
In silence stand the woods below the mountain peak.
Ah, how I long to know what tranquil moments mean!
For silence has a tongue—tranquility can speak...

Oh, listen to the spring where forest waters well,
Or near a mossy pool where moisture slowly drips.
Those waters sing the tales the mountain ranges tell,
Forever through the ages grand sagas pass those lips.

The wind can sing a song. Perhaps its words would say
It really is the breath of mountain woods on far.
Perhaps the crystal dew on which the moonbeams play
Would claim deep in the night to be another star.

Let nature's sounds go sweeping over hill and dale
And see how mountain torrents foaming water hurl.
So when you quench your thirst the water without fail
Will tell how through the eons rivers leap and swirl.

Let rivers thrust on down and press upon the sea,
While this old world exists the sea will hardly change.
The waterfall shall leap, forever breaking free,
It is the dearest child of this great mountain range.

May poplars' skilful singing fall upon your ear
Their song's are hymns when trees are bursting into leaf,
But later if you listen yellow leaves you'll hear
Intoning with the twigs a dismal dirge of grief.

If nature's heady speech throughout your soul can rise
Within your heart you'll know the greatest joy of all.
Perhaps there's fixed upon you, like a deer's dark eyes,
The wonders of all nature, since you heed their call.

O learn to sleep and rest—in fragrant meadows lie,
Where scarlet poppies blow and little insects hum.
If" you keep still all Nature moves before your eye
And with her breathless beauty will seem to strike you dumb.

Oh, see the branches wave to that lass on the shore.
Beside the mountain lake the countryside is wild.
The woods and peaks have beauty, yet the girl has more.
Without us Mother Nature is like an orphan child.

Let nighttime thunder roll and let the lightning blaze,
At dawn the face of Nature soon will shine anew.
Let Mother Nature lave your soul with soothing rays
And like a cleansing flood let light go sweeping through.

The countryside you'll find has springs on every hand,
To hear the earth and sky your travels you should start,
And inch by inch explore your lovely nature land,
Its throbbing heart you'll sense deep down in your own heart.

Translated by Tom Botting


The Stag

Through dense protective thickets you appear,
With timid eyes around the forest glade you peer.
Perhaps you would have crossed it, but now veer...
Is that because you set your eyes on me, O stag?
Now tell me, why you bend that graceful neck, O stag?

How large and soft are those black velvet eyes,
How many hearts bear wounds dealt by your eyes?
Oh tell me where you turn those lovely eyes?
And why should they hold sadness, noble stag?
Your glances wound my heart, majestic stag.

Through what sweet valleys do you proudly pace?
In what retreat have you your drinking place?
Through your domain what pathways do you trace?
I long to tread your forest paths, O stag!
And drink, like you, from Sylvan springs, O stag!

Oh, leave the thicket. Do not stand at bay!
My head is reeling—do not run away. . .
For just a little while, I beg you, stay!
Oh, let my eyes behold your beauty, stag!
Oh, do not hurry off, you regal stag!

I long to come to you, sweet creature, stay
And let me stroke your silky flanks, I pray.
The tears you shed, my hand shall brush away.
Your eyes reflect your doubt, majestic stag,
But I am not a Hunter, noble stag!

Translated by Tom Botting

Kepez

At times the clouds above you softly stray,
At others storms with lightning flashes play.
I feel the warmth of valleys giving way
To chilly winds upon your flanks, Kepez!
See people come to speak with you, Kepez.

Do you take pride in crags that touch the skies?
Has not all history passed before your eyes?
Does not the snow that round your summit lies
Date back to times of Nizami, Kepez?
Must you be silent? Won't you speak, Kepez?

May flowers always deck your slopes, I say.
And may you sleep embraced by stars, I say.
The father of our earth are you, I say.
Gyok-Gyol, your tender daughter, waits, Kepez,
So warm your daughter on your breast, Kepez.

How could the streams that from your ledges leap!
Ravines that gash your sides are green and deep.
No man can scale your summit tall and steep.
How dear and close to me you are, Kepez.
Approach, I would embrace you, my Kepez.

Forever I would watch you, face to face-
Let all your winding trails my footsteps trace.
We must draw closer yet in our embrace.
You hold my very soul in sway, Kepez.
My heart is always yours, O great Kepez!

Translated by Tom Botting