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POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCLII & CCLIII): ENGLAND – Carol RUMENS and W. Leslie NICHOLLS, Epigram, Epigramă

February 5th, 2014 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCLII & CCLIII): ENGLAND – Carol RUMENS and W. Leslie NICHOLLS, Epigram, Epigramă · International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Epigram
Carol Rumens (b. 1944, London)

I wander if Ecclesiasstes
Could have been cheered up by a glass of pastis,
And if a double brandy
Might even have made him feel randy.

Albrecht Dürer
Naturally, never heard of the Führer…
I wonder if the latter…
But that does not really matter!

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLVII): Louis de BERNIÈRES (b. 1954, London), ENGLAND, “Le garçon maudit”, “The doomed Boy”

January 27th, 2014 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLVII): Louis de BERNIÈRES (b. 1954, London), ENGLAND, “Le garçon maudit”, “The doomed Boy” · Books, International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Il n’aura jamais été vu dans les rues du port,
Avec ses lèvres idéales et ses membres idéales,
Tourbillonnant et dansant dans les boites de nuit,
Ou bien faisant le pied de grue, dans l’ombre,
Au coin des rues sombres, réchauffé brièvement par des joies passagères,
Voletant et glissant, un chapeau rabattu sur son visage
Comme tous les autres garçons beaux et maudits.
Version Française par :
Constantin ROMAN, Londres

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLVI): Louis de BERNIÈRES (b. 1954, London), ENGLAND, “Tânărul chipeş”, “The doomed Boy”

January 26th, 2014 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLVI): Louis de BERNIÈRES (b. 1954, London), ENGLAND, “Tânărul chipeş”, “The doomed Boy” · International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

He was handsome as Endymion, cast about him
The scent of virile cologne, showed brilliant teeth
When he smiled, made confident conversation,
Lived well on his father’s wealth.
………….
He wasn’t detected down in the streets of the port,
With his ideal lips and his ideal limbs,
Whirling and dancing in basements, standing in shadows
On dim street corners, warmed briefly by transient joys,
Flitting and gliding, his hat pulled over his face
Like all the other doomed and beautiful boys.

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLIII): Cecco ANGIOLIERI, (1260 – ca. 1312), Italian-Tuscan Poet, “S’i’ fosse foco….”, “If I were Fire…”, “De-aşi fi un Foc de pară…”

December 27th, 2013 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLIII): Cecco ANGIOLIERI, (1260 – ca. 1312), Italian-Tuscan Poet, “S’i’ fosse foco….”, “If I were Fire…”, “De-aşi fi un Foc de pară…” · International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations, Uncategorized

S’i’ fosse Cecco, com’ I’ sono e fui,
torrei le donne givani e leggiadre;
le zoppe e laide lasserei altrui.

True to Myself, as I had always been,
I’d keep in tow the loveliest of girls,
And leave the ugliest of them, to others.

De aşi fi eu-însumi, ca întodeauna,
M-aşi veseli cu fetele frumoase,
Iar slutele – să tragă doar ponoase!

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLII): Herbert ASQUITH, (1881-1947), ENGLISH Poet, “A Dedication”, “Inchinare”

December 24th, 2013 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLII): Herbert ASQUITH, (1881-1947), ENGLISH Poet, “A Dedication”, “Inchinare” · International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

A Dedication
Herbert Asquith
(1881-1947)

FRIEND if all these verses die:
Soon will you, and soon will I
But, if any word should live,
Then that word to you I give.

Închinare

Ptietene, când versu-mi va muri,
Şi noi aşa ne-om duce.
Şi-o rimă, doar, de ar mai fi, –
La piept să-ţi fie cruce.

Rendered in Romanian by: Constantin ROMAN,
© 2013, Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLI): Herbert ASQUITH, (1881-1947), ENGLISH Poet, “The Fallen Subaltern”, “Soldatul-Erou”

December 23rd, 2013 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXLI): Herbert ASQUITH, (1881-1947), ENGLISH Poet, “The Fallen Subaltern”, “Soldatul-Erou” · International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

The Fallen Subaltern
Hebert Asquith
(1881-1947)

The starshells float above, the bayonets glisten;
We bear our fallen friend without a sound;
Below the waiting legions lie and listen
To us, who march upon their burial-ground.
Soldatul-Erou
Herbert Asquith
(1881-1947)

În cânt de clopote şi în sclipiri de săbii
Tovaraşul de arme-l îngropăm,
Iar în ţărână suflete-adormite
Ascultă cum păşim mormântul lor.
Rendered in Romanian by: Constantin ROMAN,
© 2013, Copyright Constantin ROMAN, London

POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXXXVIII): British Anonymous Poet, “Non mi tangere”, “Nu mă atinge”

December 13th, 2013 · Comments Off on POETRY IN TRANSLATION (CCXXXVIII): British Anonymous Poet, “Non mi tangere”, “Nu mă atinge” · Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations

Non mi tangere
(ANONYMOUS BRITISH)

I need air to kindle the flame of my Desire
I need the reflection of your face coming out of the shadows,
I need so much and feel that I receive so little
To quench this insatiable thirst of you,
To smother you in my embrace and hold you tight to my breast.
To feel your halting breath enveloping my body,
That tactile dialogue of untold complicities.

I know that I am nurturing a hope of intangible dreams,
Of a surreal world, the product of my burning desire,
Devouring the secret corners of my soul,
Turning it to dust.

But I wished the embers of our Love
To cast a light for ever,
Upon the darkest hours of our World.
I want to sing a Hymn to the angels above
I want . . .
I want so much
To assuage the thirst of our Love,
To allay our deepest fears
That we may ever be parted!

But, of late, I came to realize this to be my quest of the Impossible,
A hopeless quest of bridging the ocean of our Expectations:
You, on one hand, with your youthful dreams
Of building castles in the air:
Who can blame you?
I, on the other hand, reaching the end of the road,
Consuming a hopeless Dream,
As you warned me:
“Non mi tangere! Non mi tangere piu!”
But in the twilight of the night I did not listen to you,
As you embraced another World…

I feel like a lark, trying to reach the Sun,
Only to turn to ashes,
For the temerity
Of its dreams…

Poetry in Translation (CCXXXVII): W. H. AUDEN, (1907, York – 1973, Vienna): “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone”, “Oprește orologiul”

December 9th, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCXXXVII): W. H. AUDEN, (1907, York – 1973, Vienna): “Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone”, “Oprește orologiul” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Poetry in Translation (CCXXXIV – CCXXXVI): Ion CAROIAN (1923, Romania – 1986, Switzerland): “Hope”, “Snow” and “You are weary Wanderer”

December 7th, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCXXXIV – CCXXXVI): Ion CAROIAN (1923, Romania – 1986, Switzerland): “Hope”, “Snow” and “You are weary Wanderer” · Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations

“You are weary, wanderer”
Ion CAROIAN (1923-1986)

“You are weary, wanderer,
As we are filing in a single line, hooded,
(a fistful of nothingness).
They – the ignorant retainers,
Digested through the stomach of time.
They – the decent rabble.
Give Caesar his dues!
As for the rest, to Hell!”

Poetry in Translation (CCXXXII): England, Philip LARKIN (1922-1985), “Heads in the Women’s Ward”, “Azil”

December 3rd, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCXXXII): England, Philip LARKIN (1922-1985), “Heads in the Women’s Ward”, “Azil” · International Media, Poetry, quotations, Translations, Uncategorized

Philip LARKIN (1922-1985)
Heads in the Women’s Ward
On pillow after pillow lies
The wild white hair and staring eyes;
Jaws stand open; necks are stretched
With every tendon sharply sketched;
A bearded mouth talks silently
To someone no one else can see.
Sixty years ago they smiled
At lover, husband, first-born child.
Smiles are for youth. For old age come
Death’s terror and delirium.

Centre for Romanian Studies