elegy

[Little Rose]

Elegy
(English adaptation after a Romanian poem)

I am who I am: a fir tree stooping
Over the beautiful abyss between a woman’s breasts;

Here I am, a caterpillar in my arms,
On the still green edge of a mulberry leaf.

Here I am under the guise of a unicorn
In bondage held by a princess in her secret parlour.

I am indeed who I am:
An unoxidable existence of mother-of-pearl colour.

To be a horse, for an instant, in front of a horse,
In front of a vineyard to be a grape.

Like beasts which quench their thirst with blood
I’ve drunk water from springs for thousands of years.

One of my eyes is laughing most clear
The other’s a bell which sheds bitter tears.

Last night, again I awoke to find the moon by my bed:
An enormous eye - with eyelashes made of silk.

To always be the same, under a different mask,
To be an animal in front of an animal.
I feel with my blood - poor me! - with that in my brain
And, when in love, I come back to normal.

[rksingh]

hi, the last line is simple but touching. The entire poem has a rare feel: I enjoyed reading it.
 R K