Over the Depths: First Sonnet

Adam Asnyk (1838-1897)

Over the Depths: First Sonnet

Adam Asnyk (1838-1897)

Fugitive wave of being in flux
Ferries us over the cosmos' chasm.
Futilely does our sight chase all
That lies hidden under its crest.

Though lightning's flash should unveil
an abyss unmeasured, horrid, dark,
It's hard to gain it with glimpses
Through the froth of visions that skim the surface.

Bent over the abyss in vain
We grasp the picture of blackness
For the fugitive wave, instead of ageless secrets of existence,

Discloses our own face from afar
And our entire horizon covers itself
With a shadow cast on the cosmos, the imprint of man.

Translated by Alex Kurczaba

The original can be found in Adam Asnyk, Poezje zebrane edited by Zofia Mocarska-Tycowa (Torun: Algo, 1995).