"And I pour out in words of fire
A song not yet known to the world."
More Perihelion:
Bob Sward's Writer's Friendship Series
translated from the Russian by J. Kates
The Poet's Dream
Sound lies in the silent lyre
In the dark a voice for the people
Accolades will not seduce him,
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Like a spark lurking in the cloud;
And I pour out in words of fire
A song not yet known to the world.
Singing not because he is vain
Gathers with an unfettered soul
Immortal flowers of heaven;
Nor seeks he an early laurel. -
Honor his dream, holy dream
Of a warrior going to war.
J. Kates is a poet and literary translator who lives in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire.
His translations of the Romantic Russian poets will be forthcoming in an anthology of international Romantic poetry
edited by Michael Ferber. An Anthology of European Romantic Poetry in Translation, Longman (US) 2004.