At the edge of a pond - Māra Zālīte

I let the fish spawn in me
And the seaweed heal me.
I let the wind inhale me
while weevils destroy a flower.

A Pine Tree with Naked Roots - Vizma Belševica

Is it the fault of the pine tree or dunes
That the foundations break and dissolve?
That the head climbed to the sky
Before the roots had not pushed deep enough?

Longing - Teodors Tomsons

Still are the trees, still the fields,
Still the distant forests;
Fair is my homeland, oh, so fair,
My land of dream-blue forests.

Requiem to the Yard - Vizma Belševica

An elk-torn apple tree cross.
Some rotten eaves and posts.
Underneath lies my childhood
Along with a clearing’s bright sun,
With a shepherdess’ barefoot steps
There, under the ruins of a shed.

Fairy Tale - Aspazija

On a teensy weensy pony

rides the fairy tale;

Always in a big, big hurry,

wielding a golden whip.

Bearslayer: Canto II - Bearslayer is sent out into the world (Scene 2) - Andrejs Pumpurs

He is given the task of learning

"I give you now a colt with saddle fine,

Trim steed and sword of heavy metal true,

A spear, a shield and silver spurs once mine,

And headdress trimmed with fur of martens too.

Bearslayer: Canto II - Bearslayer begins his life as a hero: The first heroic deed (Scene 1) - Andrejs Pumpurs

The slaying of the bear

Since ancient times, in fruitful Baltic lands,

Where flows the Daugava in its winding bed,

And in the fields the barley ripening stands,

A life of joy the Latvians all have led.-

Upon the bank once stood by Kegums town,

Of Lielvarde's Lord the famous halls.

There yet today a cataract pours down,

And through the cliffs into the river falls.

First Night - Zinaida Lazda

The soldier under earth shall joy in night -

A long good night!

Bearslayer: Canto I - Bearslayer's destiny is revealed by Perkons (Scene 2) - Andrejs Pumpurs

Staburadze tells of a wonder

These vows the Council brought now to its close-

Their homeward paths the gods departing sought.

if the end is the middle I’m here - Edvīns Raups

if the end is the middle I’m here Cook up

something transitory for me Nothing

lost yet the stalactite spirits

Sun, Thunder, Daugava - Rainis

Latvia was put down by the Sun,

Where the ends came together.

White sea, green land.

Latvia had the key of the gate.

Which Daugava did protect.

Let us not talk of the price - Amanda Aizpuriete

Let us not talk of the price.

You have beautiful eyes.

Such eyes can buy

half the world.

Offspring - Vizma Belševica

In this dream, I’m the bad mother sent for,

my words: unruly bairns,

hanked to my skirts, mouths blared shut

except for the babby,

my favourite, his trembling lips stammer

submission while his milk teeth cut a rage

that gnaws his tongue to a silence

that moves me to speak:

Bearslayer: Canto I - The Revelation of Bearslayer (Scene 1) - Andrejs Pumpurs

Scene 1: The Council of the Baltic gods

The gods gather
In azure vaults of heaven soaring bright,
In lofty castles filled with endless joy,
The God of Thunder, Perkons, dwells in light,
And pleasure knows whose sweetness cannot cloy.

Broken Pines - Rainis

The towering pines near sea shore sands
The wind has broken with ruthless hands
They see the bright future they long to defend
Refusing concealment and scorning to bend:

I. K. - Peter Bruveris

And days lived out are our clay,
and sleepless nights – our salt; to the window
where cloud shadow just crossed, bends
a branch of lilac that bloomed this morning, like a joke

After the Deluge - Ingmāra Balode

the first such spring after the deluge —
i do not see you squint once.

Wolf One-Eye on Odin's Street - Juris Kronbergs

On the pavement he found, not a heart,
but a potato
It wasn't even round,
but irregular and finished
like a sentence in a praised but plodding
literary effort