To Marcus Aurelius

To Professor Henryk Elzenberg

Good night Marcus put out the light
and shut the book For overhead
is raised a gold alarm of stars
heaven is talking some foreign tongue
this the barbarian cry of fear
your Latin cannot understand
Terror against dark terror
against the fragile human land

begins to beat It's winning Hear
its roar The unrelenting stream
of elements will drown your prose
until the world's four walls go down
As for us? - to tremble in the air
blow in the ashes stir the ether
gnaw our fingers seek vain words
drag off the fallen shades behind us

Well Marcus better hang up your peace
give me your hand across the dark
Let it tremble when the blind world beats
on senses five like a failing lyre
Traitors - universe and astronomy
reckoning of stars wisdom of grass
and your greatness to immense
and Marcus my defenseless tears.

Zbigniew Herbert, The Collected Poems 1956 - 1998, Alissa Valles (tradução), Ecco, 2007.