FORTUNATE'S MINION
Were I to die
who else would explain to you
the ogival theory of love?
- perhaps the sparrows that come to my window in the mornings
- perhaps the student of the 50s wearing his backpack
- perhaps the slender adolescent returning full of hope from the
no. 17 Matei Basarab middle school (slipping his high school cap into his tote bag)
to go buy groceries for his mother
- perhaps the proud female students of the 60s.
Poetry visited me often, in miniskirts and rustling petticoats,
her gorgeous legs in silken socks
and stilettos. She was a Woman,
she was looking with her breasts and was never wrong.
From her wedding dress to her mourning one,
she was the summary of life.
It looks like I was meant to be a gentleman, not a poet.
I’m over 99 years old and I’m taking up philately.
Children are eating from the palm of my hand, and birds –
from my soul.
I gaze into women’s eyes and I’m getting dizzy.
- Oh, God ( I sometimes burst), it’s tough getting old!
Young people call you The Mask in the streets,
the elders don’t recognize you, you’re not one of them,
forever immature, listening and rocking to rock musics.
RĂSFĂŢATUL SORŢII
Dacă mor eu,
cine o să vă mai explice
teoria ogivală a iubirii?
- poate vrăbiile care vin dimineaţa la fereastră
- poate elevul din anii '50 cu ghiozdanul în spate
- poate sveltul adolescent ce se întorcea plin de
speranţă
de la şcoala medie nr. 17 "Matei Basarab"
(furişându-şi în taşcă şapca de licean)
să-i facă mamei cumpărăturile casei
- poate mândrele studente din anii '60.
Pe mine m-a vizitat ades Poezia cu minijupă, furouri
foşnitoare,
cu superbele-i picioare în ciorapi de mătase
şi pantofiori cu toc cui. Era Femeie,
privea cu sânii şi nu se-nşela niciodată.
De la rochia-i de nuntă până la cea de doliu,
rezuma toată viaţa.
Pare-se că menirea mea era să fiu domn, nu poet.
Am trecut de 99 de ani şi m-apuc de filatelie.
Copiii îmi mănâncă din palmă, iar păsările - din
suflet.
Mă uit în ochii femeilor şi ameţesc întruna.
- O, Doamne (mai răbufnesc uneori), greu e
să-mbătrâneşti!
Tinerii strigă după tine pe stradă The Mask,
vârstnicii nu te recunosc, tu nu eşti de-al lor,
veşnice nematur care asculţi, bâţâindu-te, rock-uri.
Translator: Loredana Malic, MA student
MTTLC, University of Bucharest
CRITICAL RECEPTION
“Mihai Cantuniari’s poetry does not carry any documentary value. The poet did not let the lifestyle of the age permeate his writing. (...)
Some of his best poetry seems to have been written anytime, anywhere; however, not by anyone, but by a studious, solitary and isolated man. The reverie infused in his books is not “blinded”, as Elias Canetti’s character. On the contrary, he’s so sensitive to everything happening in this world that it makes him vulnerable. “
Alex Ştefănescu, History of Romanian contemporary literature, p. 891.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Poetry
“Poezii” (‘Poems’), Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1977; “Ultramar”, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 1978; “Plante carnivore”(‘Carnivorous Plants’), Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1980; “Nova”, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 1980; “Cavalerul cu mâna pe piept” (‘The Knight with the hand on his chest’) , Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1984
II. Prose
“Bărbatul cu cele trei morţi ale sale” (vol. I din ciclul “Omul ca iarba”) (‘The Man with his Three Deaths, I vol. from the cycle ‘Man like the grass’), Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2007
III. Translations from : Mario Varga Llosa, “Războiul sfârşitului lumii” (‘The War of the End of the World) (1986), “Conversaţie la Catedrala” (‘Conversation in the Cathedral’) (1988), “Scrisori către un tânăr romancier” (‘Letters to a young novelist’) (2003) etc.; Cesar Vallejo, “Heralzii negri” (‘The Black Heralds’) (1979); Christos Yannaras, “Libertatea moralei” (‘The Freedom of Morality’) (2002) etc.
Translated by Alina-Olimpia MIRON
“Mihai Cantuniari’s poetry does not carry any documentary value. The poet did not let the lifestyle of the age permeate his writing. (...)
Some of his best poetry seems to have been written anytime, anywhere; however, not by anyone, but by a studious, solitary and isolated man. The reverie infused in his books is not “blinded”, as Elias Canetti’s character. On the contrary, he’s so sensitive to everything happening in this world that it makes him vulnerable. “
Alex Ştefănescu, History of Romanian contemporary literature, p. 891.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Poetry
“Poezii” (‘Poems’), Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1977; “Ultramar”, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 1978; “Plante carnivore”(‘Carnivorous Plants’), Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1980; “Nova”, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 1980; “Cavalerul cu mâna pe piept” (‘The Knight with the hand on his chest’) , Bucharest, Cartea Românească Publishing House, 1984
II. Prose
“Bărbatul cu cele trei morţi ale sale” (vol. I din ciclul “Omul ca iarba”) (‘The Man with his Three Deaths, I vol. from the cycle ‘Man like the grass’), Bucharest, Humanitas Publishing House, 2007
III. Translations from : Mario Varga Llosa, “Războiul sfârşitului lumii” (‘The War of the End of the World) (1986), “Conversaţie la Catedrala” (‘Conversation in the Cathedral’) (1988), “Scrisori către un tânăr romancier” (‘Letters to a young novelist’) (2003) etc.; Cesar Vallejo, “Heralzii negri” (‘The Black Heralds’) (1979); Christos Yannaras, “Libertatea moralei” (‘The Freedom of Morality’) (2002) etc.
Translated by Alina-Olimpia MIRON
Un comentariu:
Copiii imi mananca din palma,iar pasarile din suflet!...Superb!
Trimiteți un comentariu