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Victot (Gyozo) Hatar

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Human Hourglass


(the Giant Sand Grain sits in front of its
hourglass as millions of humans tumble past its
throat, gauging against them the vast lifetime of
the Sand)

I was a human but received a gift:
      power to turn my hourglass
      and halt the sands of time – across its throat
      no gauging grain would ever pass

Then I became a sandgrainrocky mountain
     a sandgrainrocky mountain range
     in front of me a human hour glass
     with falling human grains gauging the change

Billions of minuscule humangrain
     tumble past the glass gullet of time
     and against those lives of running quicksand
     I gauge this great time-gift of mine

Hundred thousand millions of aeons
     have passed – the living soon depart
     but to me my time is a tame servant
     and can not upset my applecart

My soul shines through the human hour glass
      I am – ancient sandscape – well content
      the curse of life will never touch me
      a kinsman of beginning and the end

As flames of fusion whirl the mighty cosmos
     my serpent stings that flailing fireball
     the gods of mangrains may be everlasting
     but the sand o u t - e v e r l a s t s  t h e m  a l l

[PZ]

Translated by Peter Zollman

Page(s) 162

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