The End / Sfarsit

POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian April 9, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End / Sfarsit

Not every man knows what he shall sing at the end,
Watching the pier as the ship sails away, or what it will seem like
When he’s held by the sea’s roar, motionless, there at the end,
Or what he shall hope for once it is clear that he’ll never go back.

When the time has passed to prune the rose or caress the cat,
When the sunset torching the lawn and the full moon icing it down
No longer appear, not every man knows what he’ll discover instead.
When the weight of the past leans against nothing, and the sky

Is no more than remembered light, and the stories of cirrus
And cumulus come to a close, and all the birds are suspended in flight,
Not every man knows what is waiting for him, or what he shall sing
When the ship he is on slips into darkness, there at the end.

MARK STRAND
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Sfarsit

Nu tot omul stie ce va canta la sfarsit,
Privind tarmul pe cand nava se-ndeparteaza, ori cum va fi
Cand va fi-mbratisat de vuietul marii, nemiscat, acolo la capat.
Ori ce-ar mai spera cand va fi clar ca nu se va mai intoarce.

Cad va fi trecut timpul sa curete trandafirul ori sa mangaie pisica,
Cand apusul incendiind iarba si luna plina inghetand-o
Nu mai apar, nu tot omul stie ce va descoperi in loc.
Cand greutatea trecutului se sprijină pe nimic, si cerul

Nu mai este decat o lumina amintire, si povestile despre cirrus
Si cumulus se sfarsesc, si toate pasarile sunt nemiscate in zbor
Nu tot omul stie ce-l asteapta, ori ce-ar trebui sa cante
Cand nava pe care este aluneca in intuneric, acolo la capat.

Maria Magdalena