Thought outspoken is a lie…
This poem appears in We Were Hateful People.
This is my translation of an excerpt from «Silentium!» by Фёдор Тютчев [Fëdor Tiutchev].
For Jon Kertzer
How can the heart itself express,
Into another ear confess
The means by which live you or die?
Thought outspoken is a lie.
You blast the earth and vex the source—
Now silence keep—and slake your thirst.