I am a water wheel in a stream.
I keep churning as the water flows down.
Nothing in water can distinguish
This or that particle
As having touched the wheel,
Or having made any difference to it
Or to me, who, I feel,
Is the water wheel.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Water wheel is a powerful image used in the poem! But as you say in your notes, I cannot see it as making a futile effort and not making any difference to the world. Either it can suggest that you have a solid personality never affected by the churning currents of the world as the wheel is not changed by the churning water! But I would like to see it as a device that converts the energy of flowing water into useful forms of power! People like you were doing almost the same.... channelizing the free flowing human resources into useful forms, though now outdated with age like the water wheel! Yet.....as an antique piece its value is double! Great metaphorical use! !
My sincere thanks for your astute and balanced comment, a positive one to moderate the feeling of futility. Tell me of your lyrics you would like me to read. Do you recall that the water wheel in an old version used to be fitted with small pails or buckets on the rim? Best wishes, M.