4: IN THE GARDEN, THE DRAGONNEWT TEMPLE, PAVIS. This is a translation of a work in Auld Wyrmish using a traditional Draconic verse form the 'haiku'. Infelicities in the style may be blamed on the difficulty of rendering this form into human speech. From the original it may be supposed that the speaker is a dragon-newt.
A garden in spring
Gravel pathways wandering
Through Flowers and Bees.
Path meets a fountain
Splits into seven stream
Spiders web in grey.
I stand there waiting
Naginata raised high
Cutting only wind.
Wind brings me whistling
Gravel crackling lightly
The jingle of chain.
He sees me waiting
He draws his own blade, fire bright,
And stillness returns.
In the stillness and
Among the flowers spiders
Dance on grey stone paths
Then there is movement.
He does not move at all there
But he is moved.
The Wind is moving.
His sword high, his shield raised
Wind his heart, his mind.
I do no action.
I make no movement.
There is a blade and it goes
CUT
And back he runs.
Away to the cities slums,
To knives, masks and gold
CUT
To the South he runs.
He will wear the Riders' yoke
To find the White Bull
CUT
To the North he runs.
He will save the Giant's Child
Bearing a Master's blade.
CUT
At my feet he lies,
Sacrifice to his own will
Bleeding, fading, gone.
CUT
To the West he runs
He will find a fallen star
To Bring Back from Hell.
CUT
To the East he runs.
He will find a Net of Dreams
To Bind, Catch and Kill.
CUT
Through me he runs.
He will find Seven Dragons.
And take them in hand.
Gravel is Silent
Naginata at rest now.
Path, Flowers and Bees.
I did no act there.
We did not meet there
Just spiders and wind.
- --
Michael Cule
Powered by hypermail