When the waters of a worldwide flood Became bounded once again by shores, From the foam of the returning tide Love emerged silently, crawling onto land - And dissolved in the air before its term, And its term was - an eternity... And eccentrics - there are still such people - Inhale this concoction deeply, Without waiting for reward or punishment, And thinking that they are breathing at their own will, They suddenly begin breathing in time With another - irregular - breath. Only feeling, like a ship, Must stay afloat unendingly, Declaring "I love" Is the same as "I breathe", "I live!" And there will be many journeys and wanderings, The Land of Love - is a an immense land! And the trials that its knights must pass, Will become more difficult. It will demand separation and distance, It will deprive them of peace, rest, and sleep... But these madmen cannot be returned, They are ready to pay. Any price - they would even risk their lives, To protect, to preserve The heavenly, invisible thread, That was strung between them... Fresh air intoxicated the chosen, Knocked them to the ground, and resurrected them from the dead, Because if you haven’t loved, Then, you haven’t lived, and you haven’t breathed! But to those suffocating from love, Attempts to return them fall on deaf ears... Rumors and idle talk make accounts with them, But these accounts are tainted by blood. And we will place candles at the headboard For those who have died from unseen love... Their voices are given to unite in time, Their souls are given to roam in beds of flowers. And to breathe eternity in one breath, And to meet with a sigh escaping their lips, On fragile ferries and bridges, On the narrow crossroads of the universe... I will lay down fields for those in love, Let them sing when they sleep and when they wake! I breathe - and that means, I love! I love - and that means, I live!
© David Kotler. Translation, 2021