Samad Vurghun
MOUNTAINS
Translated by Peter Tempest
Long have I roamed in solitude
Among your peaks, like tents to view,
And my poetic muse in you
Has found her inspiration, mountains!
A deer looks timidly around
And to the spring comes lightly down.
I watch the path and list each sound.
How can I live without you, mountains?
In plains do nomads make their home,
The eagles—under heaven's dome.
In spring forever would I roam
Along your winding valleys, mountains!
This world I enter as a guest,
But when my time shall come to rest
Remembrance of Vurgun will best
Be cherished by these loyal mountains.