THE KNIGHT IN THE PANTHER’S SKIN

***** Rustaveli (c. 1160-1250), often called simply Rustaveli, was a Georgian poet who is generally considered to be the preeminent poet of the Georgian Golden Age. “The Knight in the Panther's Skin” or “The Man in the Panther’s Skin” is considered to be Georgia’s national epic poem and until the 20th century it was part of every Georgian bride’s dowry. It is believed that Rustaveli served Queen Tamar as a treasurer or finance minister and that he may have traveled widely and been involved in military campaigns. Little else is known about his life except through folk tradition and legend.

The Knight in the Panther's Skin
by ***** Rustaveli
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

excerpts from the PROLOGUE

I sing of the lion whose image adorns the lances, shields and swords
of our Queen of Queens: Tamar, the ruby-throated and ebon-haired.
How dare I not sing Her Excellency’s manifold praises
when those who attend her must bring her the sweets she craves?

My tears flow profusely like blood as I extol our Queen Tamar,
whose praises I sing in these not ill-chosen words.
For ink I have employed jet-black lakes and for a pen, a flexible reed.
Whoever hears will have his heart pierced by the sharpest spears!

She bade me laud her in stately, sweet-sounding verses,
to praise her eyebrows, her hair, her lips and her teeth:
those rubies and crystals arrayed in bright, even ranks!
A leaden anvil can shatter even the strongest stone.

Kindle my mind and tongue! Fill me with skill and eloquence!
Aid my understanding for this composition!
Thus Tariel will be tenderly remembered,
one of three star-like heroes who always remained faithful.

Come, let us mourn Tariel with undrying tears
because we are men born under similar stars.
I, Rustaveli, whose heart has been pierced through by many sorrows,
have threaded this tale like a necklace of pearls.

Keywords/Tags: ***** Rustaveli, Georgia, Georgian, epic, knight, panther, skin, queen, Tamar, praise, praises, Tariel, Avtandil, Nestan-Darejan

not every
Q u e en
asks for a King,
but Kings sure do ask for
q u e e n s!

I know the fire of your eyes
When you’re sitting,wallowing in
My reflections that you painted
In your mind

I know those eyes got blind
They’ve been opened all
The nights
persistence of my visions
Made them gleaming so wild

I know that I make your libido
Goes high ,running your body temperatures like a boiling water
Darling
I’m your twilight

I know that I could cross your
Lines
I’m dauntless as you , the day
I visited your view
The day you savoured me like
Crystal **** ,bleu  

I know my darkness would make
You vague
And twirl around you like an abyss
Black
Feeding you my bones and every
Drop of my blood

You don’t Know That
I’m dreaming about
You every day and
every night
Every star every bliss
In the sky
Hear the harmonies
That have been spinning
On my mind but
You don’t hear

You don’t know
Your magic words still
Waltzing within my
Ears
You taught me
How to feel
These things I would
Never reveal
Wish you taste
Every tear
If I was you
I would kneel
it’s my
Fault , you can’t hear

You don’t know your
Phantom loomed out
Of blackness and towered Over
Me  
And I couldn’t find anything
To see
Except you and me
But you don’t see

You don’t know  that
I want to penetrate every
Inch of your machine
and
Breath under your skin
Let me call you
My ecstasy  

You don’t know
How to sense this
Ember that makes
Me suffer every time
I miss you so tender
Iike  melancholy
Lavender

You don’t know that I
Forget the words when
I see your multiple faces
Go with me off to the races
Dream wild with me like
Diving into the basses  
Within your soul a million
Places
l visit you
I visit you
to the starts
To the starts
In our breathtaking spaces I will be
Your forever shades

“What if we go on,” he said, “only to more pain and despair? What if we go on, only to find a horrible end waiting for us?”

“Then it is not the end.”