Silence Poem by Gennadij Ajgi

1
In the invisible glow
of pulverized melancholy
I know uselessness like the poor know their last piece of clothing
and old utensils
and I know that this uselessness
is what the country needs from me
reliable like a secret pact:
muteness as life
indeed for my whole life

2
Muteness is a tribute—but silence is for myself

3
to grow accustomed to silence
like the beating of one's heart
like life
as if a well-known place there
and is this I am—as Poetry is
and I know
that my work is both hard and for itself alone
like the sleeplessness of the night watchman
at the city graveyard