***[The greatest and saddest loneliness] Poem by Veronika Kivisilla

The greatest and saddest loneliness
is that of the muskox
on the Taymyr tundra
where that lies
the muskox knows not, either
does it grasp that it is
Ovibos moschatus
and that behind the melancholic mask
of its sad scruff
is hiding someone
who isn't obtuse at all
with its hoof, it paws
the hopeless permafrost
something warm and good
was probably left down there
still steaming



Translated from Estonian by Adam Cullen