Worldwide Silence 2011
Written by Andres Ehin
Translated from the Estonian by Ilmar Lehtpere
Narrated by Bill Wolak
Crows dance on the tin roof
Scratching and croaking
Church bells ring beyond the great bog
But a chirping resonates
even louder
It is as if a giant cricket
were jumping
from one blushing cloud to another
and sawing
its fiddle
The chirping mingles
with the scent of clover
The name for this mingling is quietening
could just as well be silence
It draws into itself
all sounds and dissolves them
Worldwide chirping
worldwide quietening
and silence
Only on the Arctic Ocean
is there silence of a particular sort
It is glaring white
bear-fur silence
Endless silence
without quietening
before the final
end of the world
roar
ANDRES EHIN (1940-2011) was a leading Estonian poet who published novels, short stories, plays, film scripts and translations in addition to his poetry. His work has been translated into 34 languages. His most recent English publication is Shortening the Candle’s Wick with Ly Seppel (Carcanet, 2018).
ILMAR LEHTPERE is an Estonian poet and translator. His most recent translations into English are On the Edge of a Sword by Kristiina Ehin (Arc, 2018), and Shortening the Candle’s Wick by Andres Ehin and Ly Seppel (Carcanet, 2