An Interpreter Tries to Explain How to Translate
the World into the Language of Peace
A poem by Michael T. Young

An Interpreter Tries to Explain How to Translate
the World into the Language of Peace

What if I said there’s a secret in your tongue
that there is no language for?

What if I said there’s a symphony in your ear
that no instrument can perform?

What if I told you, there’s a name for your future
lodged under your footprints in sand

washed away by waves and carried out
to where sea calves sweep daylight in their play?

What if the key to unlock these mysteries
is the star in each word,

those, when arranged with others,
they chart a constellation,

defining a course to a hill where we two
recognize the sound of each other’s voice?

About the Author:

Michael T. Young’s third full-length collection, The Infinite Doctrine of Water, was longlisted for the Julie Suk Award. He received a Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Jean Pedrick Chapbook Award. He also received honorable mention for the 2022 NJ Poets Prize. His poetry has been featured on Verse Daily and The Writer’s Almanac. It has also appeared in numerous journals including Pinyon, Talking River Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review and Vox Populi.  

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