The Geyser

With every line of verse
I burn,
The Vestal Virgins
Keep vigil,
Terrified
At the thought
That the water will extinguish me,
Those poor,
Living wretches
Will be buried
One day
When the birds on the branches
Chirp and sing for me.

From the tears
Of the Vestal Virgins interred
Will the geyser erupt,
From my ashes
Will the phoenix take wing.

[Geizeri , from the volume Plagë uji, Prishtina,
Rilindja 1990, p. 57. Translated from the
Albanian by Robert Elsie]