TLHOB-QO' JA'-QO'
[A Contemporary Klingon Lyric in Traditional Form]
tlhob-Qo' ja'-Qo'
qa-oH qu' vaj
voDleH not soV-qu'
pegh maSwoV nong-wIj
bang-wIj
say' Quch
loDHom negh
nagh Des
jej Ho'
ngo' negh
tlhob-Qo' ja'-Qo'
qa-oH qu' vaj
voDleH not soV-qu'
pegh maSwoV nong-wIj
[translation]
DON'T ASK! DON'T TELL!
Don't ask! Don't tell!
I am a vicious warrior,
and the Emperor must never know
my secret moonlight passion,
my love
of the scrubbed brows
of young recruits,
of the gnarled arms
and sharp teeth
of grizzled veterans.
Don't ask! Don't tell!
I am a vicious warrior,
and the Emperor must never know
my secret moonlight passion.
[Composed from Marc Okrand's The Klingon Dictionary: English/Klingon Klingon/English. New York: Pocket, 1985.]
Hugh Tribbey's poetry has most recently appeared or is forthcoming in Sugar Mule, Otoliths, Peter Ganick's Archive Project, Spaltung, We, and Moria. He is the author of four collections of poetry: Finish Your Sentence, Juvjula Detours, Asteroid, and Waitinale Glasses. Hugh holds a Ph.D. in Practical Poetics and Contemporary Literature from Oklahoma State University and teaches literature and creative writing at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.