River

Ahenuoyi—You black, deep riverNamed by our Peoplein our own language

From the beginning you were unlikeother rivers of the worldYou flowed through our eternal homeland,your noble colorflickering on your surface

You’ve been flowing in the epicsour people have recitedfor thousands of years or longer

Our ancestors would rest on your banksDrinking from your sweet milkthey could forget the hardshipsof long journeys and weariness.Their faces were illuminated by your deeply serene soul

You ceaselessly surgein the mountain ranges and canyonsYour benevolent, generous soundis like a folk songconsoling our melancholy heartsBeside the slowly dying fire pit,when we fall asleepand slip into immense darkness,only you appear in our dreams.The shining light gestated within your darknesswashes away all memories of suffering and misfortune

Ahenuoyi—I know that wherever Nuosu people liveeveryone will know your father-like name.In our poems of countless riversabove all we praise you