------ Translation ------
A distant flash broke the silence
And the breeze, having touched the quiet crowns,
Became fire:
Ash.
Along the lake shore
I gaze at the reflection of the sky:
Water, mirror of the universe!
And from the top of the world the still mountain watches
The eternal cycle accomplish:
Day and night alternating.
------ Original ------
Un bagliore lontano squarciò il silenzio
E la brezza, sfiorate le quiete fronde,
Divenne fiamma:
Cenere.
Lungo le rive del lago,
Scruto il riflesso del cielo:
Acqua, specchio dell'universo!
E dalla sommità del mondo il monte osserva inerte
L'eterno ciclo ultimarsi:
Giorno e notte alternarsi.
The whole poem is a reference to the Eight Trigrams:
- Zhèn: Thunder
- Xùn: Wind
- Lí: Fire
- Kūn: Earth
- Duì: Lake
- Qián: Heaven
- Kǎn: Water
- Gèn: Mountain
The order of the verses corresponds to the Later Heaven disposition of the Trigrams which represents the order of the "manifested world" that is the alternating cicle of life/death, day/night, seasons, 5 elements and so on.
I chose the title as well as the last two verses to give an hint: the "first spark" is the moment when from the primordial state of things, displayed by "Early Heaven" disposition of the Eight Trigrams where all the opposites are balanced and "static", the movement takes place giving birth to all things.