Verses by Mihai Eminescu, translated by Julia Kalman
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Emerge to shed light on the arched windows,
To see in your temple the fairy you request.
Through the passing time, a face too pure,
A visage finely carved, eternally adored.
I’ll behold you with eyes in fervent tears…
Oh, marble, have mercy on my pleas!
Endure and let my gaze console
The bright whiteness of your naked neck,
The sweet roundness of your growing breasts,
The profound night in your celestial eyes,
To see that, silently, you shiver at my gaze…
Oh, marble, have mercy on my beseeching eyes!
With my tears, I wish to bathe your feet,
In the gentle thrill of my warm soul,
To die pierced by the grief of my holy love,
Like the swan that dies from its own song,
To die from the first ray of your cold eyes…
Oh, marble, have mercy on my eternal extinguishment!
Like the eternal winter of the polar North,
Numbness extends in my bitter soul,
Nothing brightens this desolation,
Only the ice sheets seem like ruins of cities,
Floating with the harsh storm of eternal death…
You, blossoming branch… bow down to my dream!
From the world of misery and incomprehensibility,
With the icy eyes of death, I have chosen,
And everything seems barren, fallen, and uniform.
I’m thirsty for the sleep of the earth,
So much that only by name does it seem I exist…
Only you, with a smile, resonate in my sad dream!
With your angelic eyes, you comfort and deceive,
For they encompass a world of sweet promises,
Of love without bounds, of dear happiness,
Nowhere to be found in this world,
For it is the gentle shadow of eternal love,
Which passes with all its power, as you pass!
Neither the drifting moon, nor the stars in the sky,
Will penetrate the world of past sorrows,
Will not penetrate the bitterness of lost youth,
Even if I had a hundred lives from now,
For my soul has been dark since then…
Only your angelic eyes stretch in my dream!
Like late autumn, life is mine, and I fall,
Illusions, like leaves, on the ripples of the ford,
And no joy do I gather in my path,
Nothing to tie my love to in this world,
Desolation and ugliness forever embrace me…
Only your marble arms stretch in my dream!
Like black ships swaying in the wind,
With sails hanging far from the ground,
As between sky and sea, birds pass in a flock,
My thoughts travel through the soul’s emptiness,
Stretching their wings toward dark distances…
You alone are the star in my dream on the seas.
With harsh indifference, you bring my soul
On the two outstretched arms of the holy cross,
And moisten my thirsty lips with gall;
When my fervent prayer, you refuse to hear,
You make me share in the sorrows of Christ…
Oh, marble, have mercy on my sorrowful soul!
But you descend, divine, moved by my voice,
Prouder, ever prouder with each step…
I dream, or is it real? Are you indeed?
Do you pass with your white hand through strands of hair?
If I dream, keep me in this dream, looking straight at me…
Oh, marble, have mercy, don’t let me wake up!
Please, clap, engage, and… stay tuned for the next story…! But, most importantly, a profound thank you to each one of you. Your unwavering support has been invaluable.
Julia Kalman 