leqsebi

VIOLET ON THE MOUNTAIN
Seven lordly sisters and brothers,
O violet naninao.
Said “let’s settle in seven towns,
O rose naninao.
In all seven we’ll pitch our tents,
O violet naninao.
In all seven we’ll have great feasts,”
O rose naninao.
In the sapphire storage room,
O violet naninao.
There is wine and the rubies glow,
O rose naninao.
Inside a cypress tree has grown,
O violet naninao.
On its branches are narcissus blooms,
O rose naninao.
A nightingale has perched there too,
O violet naninao.
The peregrine falcon spreads its wings,
O rose naninao.
I picked a violet and spread out a rose,
O violet naninao.
I laid them both before the lords,
O rose naninao.
Speak, o fortress ruins
Speak, o fortress ruins,
Of the times you have seen,
Tell us by whom you were built,
And by whom destroyed.
The fortress ruins told
This remarkable tale:
I was built by Shalva,
I have a foundation of bronze;
Bloodshed and whizzing arrows —
I have seen many such things.
I was blessed by the clan-chief,
There were no priests back then,
He prayed that I would never
Fall to enemy hands.
Zurab Eristavi
59