Verses by Mihai Eminescu, translated by Julia Kalman
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What may exist in this wide world, my love?
My soul queries my heart with a yearning dove.
Will it be a monastery, its walls aged and sere,
With sacred icons, yellowed with years?
Will it be a knight in armor clad,
Whose banner calls for the homeland clad?
Or will it be a gentle angelic heart,
To soothe with tenderness my every part?
I’ve sought it in the world, where could it be,
This angel with laughter of white gaiety?
Where shall I seek it, oh mighty God,
Perhaps a phantom in my soul’s abode?
Nay, nay! The mirror of my soul does reveal,
Often, the sweet visage of this ideal.
For the mirror is cold, showing a deity,
With an angel’s soul and a woman’s beauty,
Sweet and beloved, holy and fair,
A virgin pure, a radiant flare.
And that she may love me, and I love her too,
To her soul, my life I consecrate and strew.
But why does the world laugh? What does it say?
“Woman is not what you think, fool’s display.
Her face is a mask hiding infernal might,
Her heart a curse that lasts through the night.
Her lips are sweet but carry venom’s sting,
Her eyes can kill when their clarity springs.
And what of love? Just a dream, a perception,
A sparkling garment draped over deception.”
But if it were so, where is my celestial sprite,
With an angel’s mien steeped in light?
She never was, if she was ever at all,
Then seek her in the cold tomb’s call.
If not, imagine within your soul,
An angel from heavens, with wings that unroll,
Sent by God above, his soul entwined with yours,
Before you meet him, his essence the death restores.
He sings sweet love in the realm of bliss,
And mourns with sorrow, mourns with a kiss.
Turn your cold soul into a garden fair,
With rivers of songs, blossoms of light rare.
In the cemetery where crosses are scattered wide,
Wander often with thoughts by surprise defied.
Choose yourself a cross, choose a resting place,
And say: “Here lies my love, my soul’s embrace.”
Sing by its head, and sing evermore:
“Sleep sweetly, departed, you, my soul’s core!”
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 