translated English-Romanian
AFFIRMATION / AFIRMATIE
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian November 1, 2021
AFFIRMATION / AFIRMATIETo grow old is to lose everything.
Aging, everybody knows it.
Even when we are young,
we glimpse it sometimes, and nod our heads
when a grandfather dies.
Then we row for years on the midsummer
pond, ignorant and content. But a marriage,
that began without harm, scatters
into debris on the shore,
and a friend from school drops
cold on a rocky strand.
If a new love carries us
past middle age, our wife will die
at her strongest and most beautiful.
New women come and go. All go.
The pretty lover who announces
that she is temporary
is temporary. The bold woman,
middle-aged against our old age,
sinks under an anxiety she cannot withstand.
Another friend of decades estranges himself
in words that pollute thirty years.
Let us stifle under mud at the pond’s edge
and affirm that it is fitting
and delicious to lose everything.
Donald Hall
………………..
AFIRMATIEA îmbătrâni înseamnă a pierde totul.
Îmbătrânirea, toată lumea o știe.
Chiar și când suntem tineri,
o intrezărim uneori și dam din cap
când moare un bunic.
Apoi, vâslim ani de zile pe iazul miezului verii
ignoranti și multumiti. Dar o căsnicie,
începuta fără răutate, se risipeste
în resturi pe tarm,
iar un prieten din școală cade
rece pe un mal stâncos.
Dacă o nouă iubire ne poarta
dincolo de varsta mijlocie, soția va muri
cand se va simti cea mai puternică și mai frumoasă.
Femei noi vin și pleacă. Toate pleaca.
Iubita draguta care anunta
că este vremelnica
este vremelnica. Femeia îndrăzneață,
de vârstă mijlocie fata de bătrânețea noastra,
se scufundă intr-o anxietate pe care n-o poate suporta.
Un alt prieten de zeci de ani se înstrăinează
în cuvinte care poluează treizeci de ani.
Să ne înăbușim sub noroi la marginea iazului
și sa afirmăm că este
potrivit și delicios să pierdem totul.
traducere, Maria Magdalena Biela
MI-E MILĂ / I PITY
POSTED IN Romanian, translated English-Romanian May 1, 2021
MI-E MILĂ / I PITY
Nu mi-e milă de ajuns să iubesc viaţa făpturilor tale,
pe care le-ai facut ca să le ucizi.
Mi-e milă, omule, de tine.
Mi-e milă de copiii tăi plăpînzi.
Mi-e milă că te istoveşti muncind.
Mi-e milă de caii care cad subt povară.
Mi-e milă de cîinele pribeag.
Mi-e milă de păsările care plîng iarna în codrii îngheţaţi.
Mi-e milă de cerbi, căprioare şi iepuri ucişi de omul de
care mi-e milă.
Mi-e milă de vită blîndă, faţă-n faţă cu ucigaşul topor.
Mi-e milă de stejarul doborit din rădăcina lui.
Mi-e milă de toată carnea, de toată vlaga, de toată slăbiciunea.
Mi-e milă de tine, canalie perfidă – javră cu inima seacă şi
cu creierul murdar.
Mi-e milă şi de tine, înfumurat şi prost.-Tudor Arghezi –
……………………………………..I pity
I have no pity enough to love the life of your creatures,
which you created to kill them.
I pity you, man.
I pity your feeble children.
I pity you being exhausted from toiling.
I pity the horses falling under the load.
I pity the stray dog.
I pity the birds that cry in winter in the frozen woods.
I pity the deer, doe and rabbits killed by the man
which I pity.
I pity the gentle beast, face to face with the killer ax.
I pity the oak shot down from its root.
I pity all flesh, all strength, all weakness.
I pity you, treacherous scoundrel – rascal with a dry heart
and a dirty brain.
I pity you too, arrogant and stupid.
Translated by Maria Magdalena Biela
WE GROW ACCUSTOMED TO THE DARK / NE-OBISNUIM CU BEZNA
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian April 11, 2021
WE GROW ACCUSTOMED TO THE DARK / NE-OBISNUIM CU BEZNAWe grow accustomed to the Dark —
When Light is put away —
As when the Neighbor holds the Lamp
To witness her Good bye —
A Moment — We Uncertain step
For newness of the night —
Then — fit our Vision to the Dark —
And meet the Road — erect —
And so of larger — Darknesses —
Those Evenings of the Brain —
When not a Moon disclose a sign —
Or Star — come out — within —
The Bravest — grope a little —
And sometimes hit a Tree
Directly in the Forehead —
But as they learn to see —
Either the Darkness alters —
Or something in the sight
Adjusts itself to Midnight —
And Life steps almost straight.EMILY DICKINSON
—————————————Ne-obisnuim cu Bezna –
Ne-obisnuim cu Bezna –
Cand lumina dispare –
Precum Vecinul tine Lampa
Sa vad-a ei Plecare –
Intai – pasim nesigur
Caci noua-i Noaptea-acum –
Apoi – cu Bezna potriviti –
Drepti – o pornim la drum –
Si tot mai larga – Bezna –
Ale Mintii Inserari –
Cand nici o Luna semn nu da –
Nici Stea – nu luce-n zari –
Cei mai temeri – bajbaie –
Si-ades de-un Copac dand-
Direct in Frunte sunt loviti –
Cand vazul invatand –
Ori Bezna se dizolva –
Ori a mintii lumina
Cu Bezna se imbina –
Si-astfel Viata se-anina –
In romaneste, Maria Magdalena Biela
GRAVITY’ S RAINBOW / CURCUBEUL GRAVITATIEI
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian October 5, 2020
GRAVITY’ S RAINBOW / CURCUBEUL GRAVITATIEILove never goes away,
Never completely dies,
Always some souvenir
Takes us by sad surprise.You went away from me,
One rose was left behind —
pressed in my Book of Hours,
That is the rose I find …Though it’s another year,
though it’s another me,
under the rose is a drying tear,
Under my linden tree ….Love never goes away,
Not if it’s really true,
It can return, by night, by day,
Tender and green and new
As the leaves from a linden tree, love,
That I left with you.THOMAS PYNCHON
……………………………….CURCUBEUL GRAVITATIEI
Iubirea nicicand nu va pieri,
Nicicand nu moare doar,
Mereu ceva, o amintire
Ne surprinde amar.Departe de mine-ai plecat,
Un trandafir in urma-ti ratacit –
in Cartea Orelor presat,
Aceast trandafir am gasit …Deși un alt an este,
deși sunt un alt eu,
sub trandafir e-o lacrimă uscată,
Sub teiul meu….Iubirea nicicand nu va pieri,
Nu daca este-adevărata
In noapte, zi, ea poate reveni
Tandra și verde și invigorata
Ca frunzele unui tei, iubire,
Pe care le-am lasat cu tine-odata.In romaneste, Maria Magdalena Biela
DISPLACED PERSON’ S SONG / CANTECUL PERSOANEI INLOCUITE
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian, translated Romanian-English October 5, 2020
DISPLACED PERSON’ S SONG / CANTECUL PERSOANEI INLOCUITEIf you see a train this evening,
Far away, against the sky,
Lie down in your woolen blanket,
Sleep and let the train go by.Trains have called us, every midnight,
From a thousand miles away,
Trains that pass through empty cities,
Trains that have no place to stay.No one drives the locomotive,
No one tends the staring light,
Trains have never needed riders,
Trains belong to bitter night.Railway stations stand deserted,
Rights-of-way lie clear and cold,
What we left them, trains inherit,
Trains go on, and we grow old.Let them cry like cheated lovers,
Let their cries find only wind,
Trains are meant for night and ruin,
And we’re meant for song and sin.THOMAS PYNCHON
……………………………….
CANTECUL PERSOANEI INLOCUITE
De-i vedea un tren diseara
Profilat pe cer, in zare,
Stai in patura-ti de lana,
Dormi, caci trenu-oricum dispare.Trenuri cheama-n miez de noapte,
De departe-or suiera,
Trenuri ce strabat pustiuri ,
Trenuri ce n-au unde sta.Nimeni nu conduce trenul
Nime’-n grija farul n-are,
Trenuri n-au nevoie de-oameni,
Aparțin nopții amare.Gările stau pustiite,
Reci peroanele se-ntind
Ce-am lăsat e pentru trenuri,
Tot trec, noi imbatranind.Plângă precum neiubitii,
Strigătul lor zboare-n vânt,
Trenuri-s noapte si ruina
Noi, pentru păcat si cant.In romaneste, Maria Magdalena Biela
A FAIRLY SAD TALE / O POVESTE DESTUL DE TRISTA
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian August 17, 2020
A FAIRLY SAD TALE / O POVESTE DESTUL DE TRISTAI think that I shall never know
Why I am thus, and I am so.
Around me, other girls inspire
In men the rush and roar of fire,
The sweet transparency of glass,
The tenderness of April grass,
The durability of granite;
But me- I don’t know how to plan it.
The lads I’ve met in Cupid’s deadlock
Were- shall we say?- born out of wedlock.
They broke my heart, they stilled my song,
And said they had to run along,
Explaining, so to sop my tears,
First came their parents or careers.
But ever does experience
Deny me wisdom, calm, and sense!
Though she’s a fool who seeks to capture
The twenty-first fine, careless rapture,
I must go on, till ends my rope,
Who from my birth was cursed with hope.
A heart in half is chaste, archaic;
But mine resembles a mosaic-
The thing’s become ridiculous!
Why am I so? Why am I thus?
…………………………………………………..
O poveste destul de tristaEu cred ca nu voi sti defel
De ce-s asa si nu altfel
In juru-mi fetele inspira
-n barbati freamat, foc ce mira,
al sticlei transparent gentil,
tandretea ierbii de April,
perenitate de granit
eu, insa, nu m-am planuit.
Flacaii intalniti prin barzi
erau, sa zicem, cam bastarzi.
Imi frangeau inima si cantul
S-apoi fugeau mancand pamantul
Spunand, ca sa-mi usuce fata,
ca-s prioritari parintii, viata.
Dar nu imi neaga experienta
nicicand calmul, inteligenta.
Desi-i naiva cea ce cata
Sa fie-o vesnic nonsalanta,
Tre’ sa-mi port funia pe distanta
Eu, blestemata cu speranta.
O inima-n jumate franta
e pura, casta, este sfanta
si are-o aura de-arhaic.
A mea arata cam mozaic.Povestea mea e de belea:
De ce nu-s altfel si-s asa?
Maria Magdalena Biela
RESUMÉ / RECAPITULARE
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian August 17, 2020
RESUMÉ / RECAPITULARERazors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.DOROTHY PARKER
…………………….
RecapitulareBriciul doare;
Apa-i jilava ;
Acizii-au culoare;
Pastila-i scarnava;
Armele-s ilegale;
Funia-i slaba;
Gazul miroase tare;
Traiesti, mai degraba..
Maria Magdalena Biela
THEORY / TEORIE
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian August 17, 2020
THEORY / TEORIEInto love and out again,
Thus I went, and thus I go.
Spare your voice, and hold your pen-
Well and bitterly I know
All the songs were ever sung,
All the words were ever said;
Could it be, when I was young,
Some one dropped me on my head?DOROTHY PARKER
…………………………..
TEORIEBa iubesc, ba nu iubesc,
Asa plec, asa reviu.
Tine-ti vorba si stiloul –
Cu amar toate le stiu
Canturi ce-au tot zis sa zica,
Vorbe ce s-au repetat;
Oare, cand am fost mai mica
Cineva-n cap m-a scapat?
Maria Magdalena Biela
Do not go gentle into that good night / Sa nu treci resemnat spre-ntunecare
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian April 30, 2019
Do not go gentle into that good night / Sa nu treci resemnat spre-ntunecare
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
———————————-Sa nu treci resemnat spre-ntunecare
Sa nu treci resemnat spre-ntunecare.
Batranetea-ti sa arda-n furie la apus
Urla, urla-mpotriva luminii care moare.Desi-nteleptii stiu ca-n bezna-i luminare
Caci vorba lor fulgerari n-a produs
Ei nu trec resemnati spre-ntunecare.Cei buni, ultimul val, plângând lucirea-n care,
Faptele lor firave ar fi dansat supus
Urla, urla-mpotriva luminii care moare.Cei aprigi, ce-n cantec au prins soare,
si prea tarziu au inteles cu-amar nespus
Ei nu trec resemnati spre-ntunecare.Cei gravi, pe moarte, ce vad prin oftare
ca ochii orbi pot arde ca meteori, transpus,
Urla, urla-mpotriva luminii care moare.Iar tu,-al meu tata, pe culme de-ntristare
Blesteama, mangaie-ma-n lacrimi nesupus
Sa nu treci resemnat spre-ntunecare.
Urla, urla-mpotriva luminii care moare.
Maria Magdalena
Alone / Singur
POSTED IN classic poetry, translated English-Romanian April 30, 2019
Alone / SingurFrom childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—Edgar Allan Poe
———————————
SingurCopil fiind – n-am fost nicicand
Cum altii sunt – nicicand vazand
cum altii vad – nici dorul dor
nu-l baui din comun izvor-Tristetea-mi nu putui simti
la fel cu altii – nici trezi
in inima-mi un cant silit –
Si singur iubii ce-am iubit.Apoi – copil – in zori de zi,
‘n furtuna vietii – ma zmuci
Din bun si rau credint–adanca
Misterul ce ma leaga inca –Din torent sau din fantana-
Din stanca rosie batrana-
Din a soarelui rotire
In tomnatica aurire-De la fulgerul din cer
Ce trecu prin mine fier
De la tunet si furtuna
De la norul ce se-aduna(Cand e-albastru Cerul tot)
Ca un demon eu socot –Maria Magdalena
