Centre for Romanian Studies

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCLIX), AUSTRIA, Alfred BRENDEL (b. 1931) : “Über mich selbst gebeugt”, “Bent over myself ”, “Privindu-mă mai atent”

Über mich selbst gebeugt
Alfred BRENDEL

Über mich selbst gebeugt
sehe ich
unscharf
mein fremdes Gesicht
Gefäß des Zweifels
Chronik des Vergessens
Mühlstein täuschender Erinnerung
über den der Atem des Wassers
gleichgültig hinwegzieht

Bent over myself
Alfred BRENDEL

Bent over myself
I see
the blurred outline
of an unfamiliar face
a vessel of doubt
chronicle of oblivion
millstone of fraudulent memory
casually washed over
by the water’s breath

© Translation: Richard Stokes and Alfred Brendel

Privindu-mă mai atent
Alfred BRENDEL

Privindu-mă mai atent
desluşesc profilul şters
al unei fețe străine
pocal de îndoială
cronică de uitare
piatră de moară de memorie dubioasă
frugal spălată
de respirația apei

Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN
© Constantin ROMAN, London