The Bimo’s Voice

For the Nuosu priest (no. 2)

When you hear itit’s above the reverielike a faint strand of soft black smokeWhy is it only in times like these that the mountainsare pervaded with eternal silence?Whose voice is this? It floats between people and ghostsas if it’s already left the human bodyyet is also between reality and intangibilityIt uses the mouths of people and gods to saya paean to life and deathWhen it calls to the sun, stars, rivers, and to our heroic ancestors,summoning the deities and surreal strength,those who have died come back to life