The Day of Thunder

[Ainuri]

This brook in the wild
Has fords and steps
And the current runs briskly
Along the shrouded banks
It can be described
But still carries a secret

Brooks should have their secrets
Like all spirits and animals and humans
Only whispered to those
Who sit by the stream and listen for days
Like I might just do
If the water is friendly to me

I take off my boots from seal hide
And place my beads deep in them
So that magpies don't have an easy boon
If I share any with them
It must be on my own terms
For too much good luck could kill a whale

I take off my coat and shirt
For it annoys my skin
It belonged to another animal
And can't ever be fully at home on my back
As it reminds me with smell and rub
It knows there can't be love between us
Only convenience
As if I only could I would always go without

I won't dip in the stream with the pants on
As they contain me like a cold wooden cage
Made by a hunter for a marmot
On a half-frozen steppe
The power in my legs and thighs
In my arms that put some fins to shame
Has to commune with where it came from
Else it will wither like yellow poppies
Without bleak sun

The secret may be dangerous
But I come in prepared
Armed with my freedom and strength
That comes straight from nature
From the gone, the living, and the one yet to live
In the cycle of returning
As I immerse my body
I start listening to the whispers