Juhan Liiv: "Leaves Fell"

A gust roused the waves,
leaves blew into the water,
the waves were ash-gray,
the sky tin-gray,
ash-gray the autumn.

It was good for my heart:
there my feelings were ash-gray,
the sky tin-gray,
ash-gray the autumn.

The breath of wind brought cooler air,
the waves of mourning brought separation:
autumn and autumn
befriend each other.



"Leaves Fell" by Juhan Liiv, translated from the Estonian by H. L. Hix and Jüri Talvet. Published in Poetry (June 2011).

Photography credit: "Leaves Floating on the Waves," still from video clip by Bote1973 (originally color).