[Yesterday I saw trout swim about] Poem by Gabrielė Labanauskaitė

Yesterday I saw trout swim about
And spawn between the vocal chords
Words made from letters, weave a net
From consonants and vowels
And from dots and commas.

Yesterday I saw seahorses mate
Swordfish approach each other as if in a duel,
Sperm-whales rub sides, against the grain of skin
Not stopping even when they sense a danger.


Yesterday I saw butterflies choke,
Recover and grow wings of tempered steel
Under their bellies, easily take off
And fly the past-tense words into the day.

Yesterday I saw how our wishes kill us
Yesterday I saw the fog withstand
Yesterday I saw the charms dissolve
The die is cast, the choice is made: to be.


Translation from Lithuanian by Aivaras Mockus