We met in early Spring . . .
Written by Dmytro Chystiak
Translated from the Ukrainian by Hillary Sheers
Narrated by Srinivas Reddy
We met in early Spring,
Parted with the start of Autumn,
But Summer was ours to share
Not a single youthful Summer.
I leave a blue iris for you
In the forever gilded orchard,
In the distant, uncontrollable sea,
In morning’s meandering shoreline
You star alone in the boundless blue –
Tides ebb and flow
In the unstoppable wild sea,
In the distant gilded garden,
As when, in the very first spring,
Gardens were flooded by the sea…
And Summer roams within us
Not a single youthful Summer
Reaching further with the swallows
To other shores, over waters rich in irises:
They depart as Autumn comes,
Returning in Spring
To the unbridled shifting of the land
Not a single youthful Summer –
When gardens are flooded by the sea…