The Planet’s Life

The Planet’s Life is the best-known written document remaining from the Cetran period. While the poem has not been translated in its entirety, it is believed that the recovered fragments represent most or all of them poem. Early translation work was done by Hojo Ravenschilde in his graduate studies. Most recently, Merdith Hamilton has published an exhaustive translation with concordance of words and extensive notes on difficult or unguessable words.

Known translation:

And to this mother of rivers
we owe our lives and our afterlives,
our sons and daughters,
our fathers and mothers.
The planet gave to each of us a soul
and will give us more, should we ask.
Ask for wings; it will give
and learn to fly.
Ask for fins: it will give
and learn to swim.
Everywhere you go, belongs to the Planet.
She is within you and without you.
But you are naught (not?) without her.