Until the morrow

Twelve hours,
Twelve mountains
Separated me
From seeing you until the morrow.
Impatient, I rode on the flanks of time
With a little whip,
With a big whip,
I lashed the back of the bay horse.
Its gallop resounded in the still of the night
Until I reached the first peak,
But I wanted it to cross two, three,
Ten mountains at once.
The streaks I left on its body
Oozed blood.
I woke up...
Outside the window, dawn was scarlet red.
Oh, God!
Two mountain-hours kept me from you
With lightning bolts' bloody lashes.
                                on my back.

[Deri nesër, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 15. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]