Poetry in Translation (CXXXI): Constantine P. Kavafy (1853 – 1933), Poet Grec – “An old man”, “Bătrânul”
At the back of the noisy café
bent over a table sits an old man;
a newspaper in front of him, without company.
And in the scorn of his miserable old age
he ponders how little he enjoyed the years
when he had strength, and the power of the word, and good looks.
La masa dela cafenea bătrânul şade îndoit.
E zgomot mult, dar singur e,
în fundul sălii, nevăzut, citind ziarul favorit.
Şi în dispreţul anilor trecuţi, se-ntreabă oare despre tot ce-a fost
cât de puţine vise a trăit
când era tanăr, chipeş şi cu rost.
(Rendered in Romanian by Constantin ROMAN, London,
© 2012, Copyright Constantin ROMAN)
