HILARY ELFICK

Fall
 

I clip up my parka and my sealskin boots,
tug mittens woven from an eider’s breast.
The dacha’s shuttered (now the earth has leaned)
under its cap of thatched birch broom

and dried larch leaves. Lit by the half door
my knotted rug the colour of July and lichen berries.
In the shadows a new bedframe spread with furs;
outside, the old dry ashes of the smokery.

Under this lake lies Väskäyla, with Tunturi,
her lover, whose boat capsized as she gave birth.
The water is skimmed flat for the geese to land.
It is my silk road to the caves of Tottijärvi.

There is no silence here. Even when
the wind drops I can hear pine needles
touch the ground. I can hear the chough
stretch his wings, hear the hinges of my eyelids.

Intrusive then the splash of paddles:
the sweet birch of his canoe against
the forests frosted into silhouette.
He has come to bring me wine;

I said there was no need. The chough is
watching closely from the roof’s edge,
red-beaked, shiny black against the silver sky,
sharp eyes still alert with jealous spite.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Prabusire

Imi imbrac parka* si cizmele-mi de piele de foca,
manusile tesute din penele de pe pieptul unei rate salbatice.*
dacha* este inchisa (pamantul se odihneste acum
sub gluga-i din paie de matura

si frunze uscate de zada. Luminat de acea usa intredeschisa
pledul meu inodat de culoarea verii si a zmeurei cu licheni.
In umbra conturul unui pat acoperit de blanuri;
Afara, vechile ramasite uscate ale unui foc.

Pe fundul acestui lac zac Vaskayla si iubitul ei
Tunturi, a caror barca s-a rasturnat cand ea nastea.
Suprafata apei este neteda ca sa poata ateriza gastele.
E drumul meu de matase catre pesterile din Tottijarvi.*

Nu exista tacere aici. Chiar si cand
vantul adie aud acele de pin
atingand solul. Aud o cioara*
intinzandu-si aripile, imi aud pleopele inchizandu-se.

Pleoscaitul vaslelor tulbura linistea:
linia suava a barcii sale pe fundalul
padurii cu forma-i impietrita.
A venit sa imi aduca vin;

Am spus ca nu era nevoie. O cioara
ne vegheaza de pe marginea acoperisului,
cu ciocu-i rosu, cu penajul negru stralucitor profilat
pe cerul argintiu, priveste vigilent cu rautate invidioasa.

*An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind.This kind of garment, originally made from caribou or seal was invented by the Caribou Inuit, Inuit (Eskimo) of the Arctic region, who needed clothing that would protect them from wind chill and wet while hunting and kayaking. The word anorak comes from the Kalaallisut word anoraq, while the word parka is of Aleut origin. Certain types of Inuit anoraks have to be regularly coated with fish oil to keep their water resistance.

*the eider( „rata salbatica”) is a large (50-71cm body length) sea-duck, which is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters.


*It is a Russian word for seasonal or year-round second homes often located in the exurbs of Soviet and Russian cities. In some cases, they are occupied for part of the year by their owners and rented out to urban residents as summer retreats. Dachas are very common in Russia, and are also widespread in some other former republics of the Soviet Union.

*in Finlannd

*the choughs belong to the crow family. They are predominantly black in colour with brightly coloured legs, feet, and bills. They have long broad wings and perform spectacular aerobatics. This genus is not to be mistaken for the White-winged Chough of Australia. Red-billed Chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, an elegant bird, distinguished by its bright red, slightly decurved bill and red legs and feet. When in flight, its primary feathers are separated into 'fingers'. The Chough "chuff" makes a loud ringing 'che-oww' call which completes the picture of a very attractive bird.