“Loneliness”
B.Batbayar
1941- Mongolian
translated by Sh.Tsog and Simon Wickham-Smith

Just as it always has been,
like being with one who’s deaf and dumb,
I pair up with myself.
I’m telling no-one
of the sadness at my core.

The stars are blinking at someone in the dark.
Why is the craggy moon in tears?
How come everything I see and hear
Seems so alien?
It’s like I’ve come into this world by mistake,
Like a sheep among the goats.
Oh, to hell with it!
I wonder what mother’s up to.