OVER THE SEA, A CLOUD …

OVER THE SEA, A CLOUD …

Over the sea, a cloud
By the sea, a silvery ship
In the sea, a yellow fish
At the bottom of the sea, blue algae
Near the shore, a man
naked
motionless
pondering
To be a cloud
or a ship?
To be a fish
or algae?
No, my boy:

What one needs to be, is the sea
with its cloud and its vessel, its fish and its algae.

NÂZIM HIKMET, Turkey (1902–1963)
Translation (from Spanish)

Germain Droogenbroodt – Stanley H. Barkan