I went out into the clear air
and raised my eyes to the heavens
to understand our stars
and their January brilliance.
I found the key to the riddle;
I grasped the hieroglyphs’ secret;
I carried into our own tongue
the work of the star-poet.
I recorded all this on a stump,
on frozen bark,
since I had no paper with me
in that January dark.
(Varlam Shalamov)
