[How many sunrises can a human bear...] Poem by Knuts Skujenieks

How many sunrises can a human bear
If his heart floods each morning
If eternally the sun rises red
And never fades?

How many sunrises can a human bear
If his heart through blood strings
Raises its wings, each evening falls
With burning swallows?

How many sunrises can a human bear
If his heart each morning trembles under a knife
And a thousand red dawns drag along with life
Like a long interminable red chain.

If thousands of mornings arrive without regret
And each must be lived differently?

Translated by: Margita Gailītis. Latvian literature. Latvijas Literatūras centrs