Here, in this mineral landscape
of rock, sea, sapphire and diamond
which offers nothing perishable
to the wheel of time
here in the great triumphant light
the only mark on which is your shadow
and where only your body
carries the harbinger of death
here fleetingly perhaps your idols
will vanish; perhaps once more
you may stare at your
true self in the dazzling glare
a self that is hidden by many masks
distorted by necessity and the bonds
you betray, so that everyone steals
from you using seduction or violence
your bones stripped bare, as clean
as an earthen pot, and so for a moment
your clay escapes the constant
weights of life and death
Landscape
Alexander Mátsas
Translation © R J Dent (2009)
R J Dent 