Magda Isanos & John Flynn
The Man
Bărbatul
Umplând încăperea şi inima toată,
bărbatul veni de-afară, din zloată;
glasul lui mare făcu să se sperie focul.
Suduia lepădându-şi cojocul.
Parc-ar fi un stejar stufos,
gândii în taină, dar era frumos.
Se supăra şi-ndată râdea.
Acum-am să-l fac să nu mai poată pleca.
"Tu eşti subţire şi ageră ca o nuia,
îmi spunea uneori,
eşti plină de ghimpi şi de flori;
teme-te de mâna mea, c-ai să mori..."
Puterea izvora potolit,
din braţele şi pieptul lui dezgolit...
Doamne, fă-mă ca Dalila, vicleană,
când o da geană prin geană,
să-i aflu taina şi să-l robesc
visului meu pământesc.
The Man
A man comes in from the sleet
Filling the house and all of my heart
When he speaks he frightens the fire
And he curses, dropping his sheepskin coat
I imagine in secret that his naked body is beautiful
As if a leafy oak
He is angry and he laughs
I will make sure he never leaves
Sometimes he speaks to me
"You are as keen and thin as a twig
Covered with thorns and flowers
You agree with these hands of mine
In them you will perish"
Such power springs slowly
From his arms and bare chest
Dear God, make me as sly as Delilah
When the sun opens his eyes
I want to learn his secrets and enslave him
My earth-bound dream
Translated from Romanian by John Flynn
Contributor's Notes
(1916-1944) is a Romanian poet and playwright who published only one collection during her lifetime, Poetry (1943). Her posthumously published books are The Song of the Mountains (1945), Land of Light (1946), The Fires (1945, co-authored with Eusebiu Camilar), and Poetry (1964).
has published translations of George Bacovia, and a collection Blackbird Once Wild, Now Tame by Nicolae Dabija. His own collections include Moments Between Cities, A Dozen Lemons In Autotropolis, and Westbound Freight. A new chapbook, Wave And Metronome, will be published in 2008 by Pudding House. His published poems and stories can be accessed for free at www.EditRed.com/ionelajo. He's earned writing awards from the New England Poetry Club, and the U.S. Peace Corps.
