New Year's Poem 2026

[Anonymoose]

It's that time of year, again! The... beginning of it, that is...

Please don't hesitate to correct transcriptions or translations.


ENGLISH
Our past astern, we scan the sea
In search of that which may yet be
Frail playthings of the restless tide
Yet wind and wave shall be our guide

From the journal of a well-traveled young man


JAPANESE

かの大陸での旅を終え、船上にて思う。
Having completed my journey on that continent, I was reflecting whilst aboard the ship.

古きを知いて継ぐべきを見出すは、波に似たい。
To know the past, and identify what to carry forward, is like the waves.

新しきを練いて変ずるべきを兒出すは、風に似たい。
To create something new, and bring forth necessary change, is like the wind.

それらは船を水平線の彼方へと導くのだから。
For these guide the ship beyond the horizon.


ある青年の回想録より抜粋
—Excerpt from a Young Man's Memoirs

GERMAN

O stolzes Schiff, so trag' mich fort, zu meinen heut'gen Aufbruch
O proud ship, carry me forth to my departure t'day,

Der Wellen Schaum an deinen Bug flüstert alter Wissen
The foam of the waves on your bow whispers old knowledge,

Des Windes Spiel um deinen Mast lockt mit Zeiten Umbruch
The play of the wind around your mast beckons with times of change,

O Gezeiten, ermahnet und geleitet mich, hinaus zu neuen Ufern!
O tides, caution and guide me to new shores!


Aus den Memoiren eines jungen Mannes
From the memoirs of a young man

Thanks for the fix, Hox!

FRENCH

Notre voyage s'achève, et le large m'appelle
Our journey ends, and the open sea calls to me,

Le vague est tradition, une mémoire eternelle
The wave is tradition, an eternal memory,

Le vent est changement, force de création
The wind is change, the force of creation,

Ils poussent poussent le navire par-delà l'horizon
They push the ship beyond the horizon.


Extrait des mémoires d'un jeune sage
Excerpt from the memoirs of a wise young man

COMBINED PANSLATION

With Tural at our backs, the sea calls once more.
The support of the waves, so like the rhythm of tradition;
The drive of the breeze, so like the impetus of change;
Together they bear us over another new horizon.


I do like the sound of leaving on a boat... (as opposed to a shard-gate...)