Wolves & the wind howl in the upper valleys. I only hear your silence.
The women are singing as they cook. Amongst them I hear your silence.
You were singing when I first saw you. Daughter, sister, future bride.
Your voice a delicate bell. Never quiet. I did not expect to hear your silence.
I proposed. I gave your father four ponies. For you, cloth from the plains.
On our wedding night the whole encampment did not hear your silence.
We rode all over the mountains. Our laughter made the snow melt.
Only when we looked down towards the plains would I hear your silence.
Taken by a spring fresh, not even a year gone by. Not even a year.
I heard you call out. I came too late. I arrived to hear your silence.
At night I watch the stars. I pick out your eyes & smile in them.
By day I watch the children play. Their games do not hear your silence.
Once I was known as Friend To All. Now I am friend to none.
Wanting only one friend, you, back beside me so I can hear your silence.
Anonymous. c.500 CE
included in: Rivalling The Six Dynasties: Poems from the Eastern Turkish Khaganate selected & translated by Umberto Allegrezza; The Uzbekistan Historical Society; Bukhara, 2000.
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