Adam Mickiewicz

"Where waters stood clear and vast..."

Where waters stood clear and vast
Huge boulders loomed row in row,
And where reflection was cast
Depths mirrored their faces black;

Where waters stood clear and vast
Dark clouds in the skies did flow,
And where reflection was cast
Depths mirrored their outlines slack;

Where waters stood clear and vast
It flashed and a thunder boomed,
And where reflection was cast
Light mirrored, the sound consumed.

Yet water, as ever vast,
Stands clear, untouched by the cast.

These waters I see around
And must reflect through and true,
And boulder-faces profound,
And thunders - I shan't review.

The rockface must stand and warn,
The clouds must the rain have born,
The thunder must roar, not prevail,
And I must sail, I must sail -

 

(Translated by: Witold Wojtaszko)