Mirror / Oglinda

POSTED IN classic poetry, translated Finnish-Romanian April 12, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mirror / Oglinda

A white room and a party going on
and I was standing with some friends
under a large gilt-framed mirror
that tilted slightly forward
over the fireplace.
We were drinking whiskey
and some of us, feeling no pain,
were trying to decide
what precise shade of yellow
the setting sun turned our drinks.
I closed my eyes briefly,
then looked up into the mirror:
a woman in a green dress leaned
against the far wall.
She seemed distracted,
the fingers of one hand
fidgeted with her necklace,
and she was staring into the mirror,
not at me, but past me, into a space
that might be filled by someone
yet to arrive, who at that moment
could be starting the journey
which would lead eventually to her.
Then, suddenly, my friends
said it was time to move on.
This was years ago,
and though I have forgotten
where we went and who we all were,
I still recall that moment of looking up
and seeing the woman stare past me
into a place I could only imagine,
and each time it is with a pang,
as if just then I were stepping
from the depths of the mirror
into that white room, breathless and eager,
only to discover too late
that she is not there.

MARK STRAND
————————————————–
Oglinda

O camera alba si o petrecere continuand
si eu stand in picioare cu cativa prieteni
sub o oglinda mare cu rama aurita
care se inclina usor inainte
peste semineu.
Beam whiskey
si unii dintre noi, nesimtind durere,
incercau sa decida
in ce nuanta precisa de galben
soarele apunand ne colora bautura.
Am inchis ochii scurt timp,
apoi am privit in sus in oglinda:
o femeie in rochie verde se rezema
de peretele departat.
Parea distrasa,
degetele de la o mana
se jucau cu colierul,
si ea privea fix in oglinda,
nu la mine, ci peste mine, intr-un spatiu
ce putea fi umplut de cineva
inca nesosit, care in acel moment
putea sa inceapa calatoria
care l-ar fi dus eventual spre ea.
Apoi, deodata, prietenii mei
au spus ca e timpul sa mergem.
Asta a fost cu ani in urma,
si desi am uitat
unde am mers si cine eram noi toti,
imi amintesc inca acel moment privind in sus
si vazand femeia privind fix peste mine
intr-un loc pe care mi-l puteam doar imagina,
si de fiece data simt o durere,
ca si cum chiar atunci as pasi
din adancurile oglinzii
in acea camera alba, fara suflare si dornic
doar sa descopar prea tarziu
ca ea nu este acolo.

Maria Magdalena