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'The Wheatfields of Broi'

The dainam-trees in the south-wind bend supply
Loudly sounds the calling of the nightingale

Round and round turns the donkey-mill; the farmhand urges on the animal
The wheel turns faster; the water gushes over the field

The sun commands; the black throne is empty for a while
Thunder rolls over far-away mountains, the earth burns

The Kirimanya are one until the thunder-storm passes
Gingtan-leaves cling together for a while after the rain
Separate then, Yelnao raises his voice
The wheat is harvested, grains tinkle in a glass bowl.

Yundiai the Manyfaced.

Notes

The wheatfields of Broi

In 'The Genesis of Andal', it is told how from the ears of wheat standing on a wheat-field, woman sprung up, and how from the nuts of the Dainam tree, man came into existence.
Around Broi no wheat is being cultivated; the wheatfields of Broi is a reference to the cities women, especially the cities whores, who are the most cultured and polished of the country.
In the city of Broi, there's a famous entertainment quarter (the Labyrinth), where according to legend there once was a field that gave phenomenal yields. The quarter is still often called 'raygin'.

The dainam-trees in the south-wind bend supply

From its form the dainam tree is associated with maleness. This a palm-like tree which only grows in the southern hills. Since the great exodus of the Charyan people to the north, the dainam tree has become legendary. It is supposed to bend with the wind but never break, not even in the mightiest gale. Like everything that comes from the south, the south-wind is better, stronger, more fragrant and warmer than anything that comes from the north.
In an old folk-ballad, the south-wind is the lover of an girl who subsequently gives birth to a famous emperor. In the Matraian tradition the wind is the lover of the female shamanka who has to goad the deceased emperor back into his palace.
Wind, and storm of course, is a metaphor for lust and passion.

Loudly sounds the calling of the nightingale

The Old Charyan word for _nightingale_ is specifically female: _mengdan_. It has a red face and black body and bill: it appears to wear a mask, like the Charyan whores wear a mask or veil.

Round and round turns the donkey-mill; the farmhand urges on the animal

Donkey-mills (like they still can be seen in the rural parts of Africa and India) are omnipresent in the irrigated fields of the eastern plain. They are associated with abundance and fruitfulness. For farmhand a noun is used which is normally associated with imperial servants - and indication that the poet means himself in this line. The referent of 'animal' is not difficult to guess.

The wheel turns faster; the water gushes over the field

There's an old legend about a farmer who was inordinately fond of wine and wished that his donkey-mill would not bring water but wine. The Nine Teleg fulfilled his wish. Within a day the farmer was dead drunk and within a week his field bore no more fruit. The poet however wishes water, the life-giving fluid, to gush over the fertile fields.

The sun commands; the black throne is empty for a while

The sun, Vayn'Wih, is the supreme god of all that is good, fortuitous and pleasant. Sometimes also of duty and self-discipline. Where the sun commands the adversarial god Vayn'arjah, associated with a certain planet, cannot act. Vayn'wih once beat Vayn'arjah and for a while happiness, peace and rest reigned in the world. The black throne is the seat of Vayn'wih, and if he is absent, discipline as absent, too.

Thunder rolls over far-away mountains, the earth burns

When the thunder rolls the divine lovers, the Brother and Sister of the Kirimanya meat each other. Shesal, the god of thunder is a wild and unaccountable god, and his thunder is a metaphor for the unrestrained phase of love-making. The burning earth, a reference to the god of fire, Yignis, is also recognized as one of the phases of love-making.
(The sources do not agree on the sex of Yignis and Shesal; it is only certain that one of them is male, and one of them female.)

The Kirimanya are one until the thunder-storm passes

As said above, the Brother and Sister of the Kirimanaya, are the Divine Lovers and the most favourite gods of the Charyan pantheon. They are born from the union of Yignis and Shesal and can only meet during thunder-storms: at all other times they are separated by the gorge of the Kiriman.

Gingtan-leaves cling together for a while after the rain

The leaves of the gingtan tree look like the human body (if you have a lot of imagination), and the wood of the gingtan tree remains warm, even after the tree has been felled.

Separate then, Yelnao raises his voice

Yelnao is a prophet from the east of Charya who made such accurate prophesies the gods smote him with muteness, but all people who wanted to hear his prophesies waited for him to speak in respectful silence. It is thus an image for a pregnant silence, a silence that speaks for itself.
Yelnao is also an alternative name for Rikatim, the small god of merchants, who presumably will have to be honoured by paying the courtisan for her services.
A yelnao is also the Denden word for sickle, with which the grain is harvested. The swishy sound of a sickle is traditionally associated with a loving whisper.

The wheat is harvested, grains tinkle in a glass bowl.

The first few ears of the new harves are offered to the divine sage Pantumatar: they are placed in a glass bowl with a handful of earth. If Pantumatar blesses the village, the grains will sprout in winter. It also indicates earliness, and youthfulness.
Grains in a glass bowl is also a reference to payment for services. In earlier times, the imperial civil servants were not paid in gold, but in grain. In this line it can both refer to paying a whore, and to paying a dowry, an un-Charyan custom, but not unknown amongst the other ethnicities.

Yundiai Manyfaced.

Manyfaced is a reference to the make-up and veils of Charyan whores. A man who uses it as his literary name indicates an excessive association with them: he is a rake. (There's nothing wrong with going out for an evening, but it must not interfere with your duty.)