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Eastward of All By Fran�ois Cheng Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click to hear me recite the original French Click to hear me recite the English Eastward of all, where the sea recalls The storm has scattered scales Of dragons, turtle shells We bow down unto pure silence That rules beyond the banished land At evening-fall, eastward of all Where the wind of the one recollection rises. The Original: "� l'orient de tout..." � l'orient de tout, l� o� se souvient La mer, l'orage a dispers� �cailles Des dragons, carapaces des tortues Nous nous prosternons vers le pur silence R�gnant par-del� la terre exil�e � l'heure du soir, � l'orient de tout O� se l�ve le vent de l'unique m�moire.

Pouring Myself Drinks Alone By Moonlight By Li Bai Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click to hear me recite the original in a reconstruction of what 8th century Chang'anese pronunciation Click to hear me recite it in Modern Mandarin pronunciation Click to hear me recite the English Amid the flowers � a flask of wine I pour alone � no company I raise my cup to invite the moon Then moon, my shadow and I are three But no the moon knows not how to drink And my shadow does naught but follow me Yet I quickly make friends of moon and shadow Enjoy what spring there may yet be I sing � the moon just maunders on I dance �my shadow flails away Still lucid � we share in common pleasure Blind drunk � each goes his separate way Let us join to roam beyond all cares And meet afar in the Milky Way The Original: (Medieval Chinese transcribed using David Branner's lovely system) Han Characters ???? ?? ?????,  ?????; ?????,  ?????? ?????,  ?????; ?????,  ?????? ?????, ????...

Zulm-o-jabr tou husn waalon ki saqafat hai, Badla-e-khulus main naseeb humain adawat hai, Koi jaa ker kare kamosh Ali bin Asghar ko, Aah nahi berdasht abhi, yeh waqt-e-shaddat hai Woh karain zulm aur hum hain k umeed naa harain, Mohabbat ke ander bhi aik ajeeb si sharafat hai, Sawal aik zaroor meri maiyat ko sataiga, Qafan tou hogaya, qatil ko nadamat hai? Itna zulm kyu kisi ghair per koi kere ga, Tumhari berukhbhi bhi daleel-e-rafaqat hai! Pain and cruelty is the tradition of those with beauty, In return for sincerity we are destined only with malice, Someone go and quiet Ali bin Asghar* now No sighs are tolerated here, this is the time of sacrifice, They continue with their torture and we fail to lose hope, In love exists an odd sort of innocence, A question will indeed plague me beyond life, The burial has happened, does the murderer regret? Such cruelty who would do unto a stranger? Your aloofness is proof of our closeness! - Hassan Bin Fahim *Ali Bin Asghar is a reference to Husei...

Thou By Stefan George Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click here to hear me recite the German Thou flaming column pure and slender Thou light and tender as the dawn  Thou flowering shoot from seed of grandeur Thou wellspring simple and withdrawn Companion on my sunlit meadows All round me in the evening haze Light on my path through coming shadows Thou cooling breeze Thou breath ablaze Thou art my wish and all I think I breathe of Thee in all my air I savor Thee in every drink I kiss Thy fragrance everywhere Thou flowering shoot from seed of grandeur Thou wellspring simple and withdrawn Thou flaming column pure and slender Thou light and tender as the dawn The Original: Du schlank und rein wie eine flamme Du wie der morgen zart und licht Du bl�hend reis vom edlen stamme Du wie ein quell geheim und schlicht Begleitest mich auf sonnigen matten Umschauerst mich im abendrauch Erleuchtest meinen weg im schatten Du k�hler wind du heisser hauch Du bist mein wunsch und mein gedanke Ich atme dic...

The interpretation of this poem is complex, to say the least. I have decided to follow my own sense of how it relates to vision, to the inversion of observed and observer, to oracularity and much else, in my translation. My notes are mostly just philological in nature, intended only to give an understanding of how I read the German at the lexical level in a few cases which may not be especially obvious. Archaic Torso of Apollo By Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by A.Z. Foreman We never knew the epic head of sight wherein the round eyes ripened. Even so his torso still glows like a gas streetlight in which his gaze has merely been turned low, and holds agleam. If not, then the breast's bare curve could not dazzle you, nor could the loin swerve a smile down toward that center where  begetting was begotten at the groin. If not, this stone would stand cut short with strife   and maimed beneath the shoulders� clear cut case, and would not shimmer like a wild beast's fur, and would no...

The Panther By Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by A.Z. Foreman Click to here me recite the original German His gaze has been so worn from the procession of bars, that there is nothing it can hold. There are a thousand bars in his impression; and there behind a thousand bars, no world. The powerful soft footsteps' supple movement turned in the tightest circle of them all is like a dance of strength about a center wherein a mighty will stands stunned in stall. Only at times the pupil's soundless curtain is reeled away, letting an image start inward through the taut silence of his sinews and come to nothing in the heart. The Original : Der Panther Sein Blick ist vom Vor�bergehen der St�be so m�d geworden, da� er nichts mehr h�lt. Ihm ist, als ob es tausend St�be g�be und hinter tausend St�ben keine Welt. Der weiche Gang geschmeidig starker Schritte, der sich im allerkleinsten Kreise dreht, ist wie ein Tanz von Kraft um eine Mitte, in der bet�ubt ein gro�er Wille steht. Nur manchmal ...

Infidel's Confession By Iskandar Chahari Translated by A.Z. Foreman Hey, Sheikhs and Preachers. I'm a man from Unbelieverdom. I will not fake repentance for my drunkenness and fun. There's joy both in debauchery and Surat al-Rahman. My one true God of love and lovemaking, where have you gone? The Original: ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? Romanization: Kafiram az kufrabad ay wa'iz o mufti Tawba-i xali naxwaham kard az in masti Lizzat ast as rindagi o surat al-rahman Ay xuda-i dostdaran to kuja rafti?

A light little Romani Sonnet. To Wine Leksa Manush Translated by A.Z. Foreman A cup of wine does anything you will:  It gives a manly courage to shy men, And to the weakest man a strength of will. Wine knocks strong men out cold beyond their ken.  And wine bonds strangers unknown to each other.  They sit as friends, and each one drinks his fill.   With song, wine calls them up to dance together.  A good life, lived with wine, is better still.   Sons and daughters of the sun and earth! The grape born of the vine has given birth To wine, to make us happy and at home.  May vineyards never empty of the vine And may the jug forever fill with wine To the happiness and health of every Rom.  ?????? ????? ????? ?????? ??????, ?? ?????, ?????: ???????????? ??? ? ????????, ??????? ??? ????, ?????????, ??? ?????? ??? � ??? ??? ???????.   ??????? ?? ??????? ????????????, ?????, ??? ?????, ?? ???? ????. ??? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??????. ?????????? ?????...