Zahrad - DOWN TO ZERO

It was
A hollow loop – lying down
Yawning with languor –
-- I took and put it around my neck --

I thought I’d collapse under its weight – instead
light as a feather –
I felt like a speedy sparrow
Stealing mulberries from a tree
-- or it was that way anyway – who knows? I didn’t!

Then I removed it from my neck
Set it before me – it was springtime
-- Green wind – green hill – green stallion --
As if it were the world instead of the zero
that I began to see as I had not seen before

I dived into its illusory circle – and suddenly
A vacuum overflowed inside me –
Sorrow and yearning – regret and intrigue – all vanished

I sprang out of the zero
– All round and hollow
it yawned with languor


Poem by ZAHRAD
Translated by Tatul Sonentz