With no shoes

We walk the trail of our life with no shoes
on the cliffs above the sea.
And our history
is the history of the waves that break below, at our feet:
splattering our faces with salt water,
strongly, at times,
whereas other times they are weak
when they reach us,
as if the pain of a deep wound
would have hit them.
And we remain watching the waves,
for them to carry
our heart, at least,
to the horizon where the sun rises and sets,
and to be transformed into light
when darkness subsides.

(Patxi Ezkiaga, Basque Poet, 1943-2018)

Translated by Mertxe de Renobales Sheifler