No matter how many times you chew the earth

how many times your mouth fills with autumn

there is something more powerful than pain and death
there is something stronger than sadness or rain,

if a part of the light is denied to you
if a fragment of the day peels off
and falls around you
like a destroyed temple,

if suddenly emptiness or the abyss stalks you:
remember: there is something more powerful
than pain and death

its name can be all names,
its aroma all aromas,
its secret all secrets,

there is no other universe
than the unyielding instant
when you clench your fists
and hit the belly of the sun

and with the tender violence of pride
win your right to joy!

your inevitable destiny
to smile at death