New anthology of Czech and Slovak poetry,
in original language and English translation.
Published by CZECHOSLOVAK SOCIETY OF ARTS &
SCIENCES (SVU) in Plzen, Czech Republic, June
2002. Compiled and edited by VERA BORKOVEC.
(A Bilingual Anthology of Czech and Slovak Exile
Poetry Written in America)
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"EQUATION"
(excerpt)
by ROBERT VLACH (1917-1966)
  Translation by Jirina Fuchsova

Grown into private solitude
I face the wind, I ask the river
on the whereabouts of death, its roots,
of far-away time closest sliver.

How shall I, or any man, increase
the universe of mankind's treasure?
By silence? Faith? or Disbelief?
By unattained love's empty measure?

I sing of light. Its flash in fire.
(Miracle, opposite of black)
And loneliness, wasted desire,
hangs like a millstone 'round my neck.

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