Centre for Romanian Studies

Poetry in Translation (CCCXXVII), Grażyna CHROSTOWSKA (1921-1942), POLAND: “I would wander”, “Mă-ntreb…”, (Wędrowałabym…)

I would wander (Wędrowałabym…)
Grażyna CHROSTOWSKA (1921-1942)

Now, I would wander endlessly,
In small towns, on unknown roads,
I would drag myself aimlessly,
Starting in the town of Hrubieszow.
From shops full of secrets,
To colorful, wonderful fairs,
I watch life in miniatures,
And the strangest collections in the antiquarian’s shop.
The sad inns, full of strangers,
Odd looking faces from a century and a half ago,
Whenever I want, I may leave it,
Not looking back at anything,
Not waiting for anything,
And somewhere, in an empty restaurant, one winter evening
I want to meet you for a glass of wine.
We will be happy, sitting at the wooden table,
And talk to each other, at the late winter hour,
Then, we will go out into the winter storm
To walk against the wind,
As we always do, as we did before,
Then we part – happily, just with a smile,
Till the next rendezvous – after quite a while.

(Lublin prison: 1941)
(Translated from Polish by Jarek Gajewski)

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Mă-ntreb…
Grażyna CHROSTOWSKA (1921-1942)

Mă-ntreb la nesfârşit,
Prin târguri, pe cărări neştiute,
Îmi târesc amarul fără vre-o ţintă,
Pornind din oraşul Hrubieszow.
Prin labirinturi pline de mistere,
Până la bâlciuri minunate
Observ viaţa în miniatură
Şi cele mai curioase obiecte din fereastra anticarului.
Hanurile triste, pline de străini,
Priviri curioase de acum un veac şi jumătate,
Oriunde m-aş duce, aş pleca
Fără să mai privesc înapoi,
Iar pe undeva, într-un restaurant fără muşterii,
într-o seară de iarnă,
Aşi vrea să te întâlnesc la un pahar de vin.
Vom fi fericiţi, depanând amintiri, la masa de lemn,
Şi vorbim, până seara târziu…
Apoi vom pleca, în viscolul iernii,
Aşa cum ne este obiceiul, cum am mai făcut înainte,
Ca să ne despărţim, fericiţi, cu un zâmbet pe buze,
Până ne vom întâlni din nou, după un timp mai îndelungat.

Rendered into Romanian by Constantin ROMAN,
© Copyright 2015, Constantin ROMAN, London

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SHORT BIO: Grażyna Chrostowska was born on 21st October, 1921 in Lublin, in Poland. She was a member of the underground KOP (Komenda Obrońców Polski) organization during the Nazi Germany occupation of Poland. On 8th May, 1941, tyogether with her sister, she was arrested by the Gestapo in Lublin. On 23rd September, 1941 they were sent to the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp, and on 18th April, 1942, Grażyna Chrostowska and her sister were executed by firing squad.