Sunset

The pond of tears has dried up
Love has lost its gripping claws
Attachment has broken its limbs
That stay clinging to the lies of this realm

Manifold sounds of desire have ceased
The voice of anger has relented into soundless peace
Supreme pride has tamed into low humility
And self is now too frail and feeble to declare its supremacy

When my sunny day is left far behind, buried in the bygone moments
Which have burgeoned into the decayed dump of the past
When the eventide of my life glows faint in the dull sky
That has been stripped of its ornaments of ivory clouds

When the sighs of the late evening are soft and cold
When calm sunset soothes my weary soul
With the poignant music of its mournful stillness
And when the time ripens for me to stand alone

On the lonely banks of the river Thanlwin,
Waiting for my next voyage in the murky dusk
With the swaying light of the lamp
Burning blissfully within my inner void!

Hein Min Tun

Poet’s Note: “Thanlwin” is the third largest river of Myanmar which surrounds the city of Mawlamyine in Mon State with its sublime nuances from dawn to dusk.