HILARY ELFICK

If I could write you the poem that I want to write
for David Malikoff

 

it would be the lodestone for your pocket
the vertical which proved the misaligned

it would be the moment that cannot be timed
the words that need you to speak them

the breeze from a new turn in the road
the extra breath that eases pain

the honeycomb that was a sloughed snake skin
the whipbird’s reply, too fast to cut free

the rise in the road, slit of light by a door,
the tomtit waiting beyond my shoulder

the single word to ease your going,
the wrapped gift, my lost saints,

the Logos, talisman, diagnostic stripe,
the work in perfect pitch, the jizz.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

De-as putea scrie poemul pe care vreau sa-l scriu
pentru David Malikoff

ar fi magnetul din buzunarul tau
linia verticala ce ordoneaza tot ce nu e aliniat

ar fi momentul ce nu poate fi masurat
cuvintele ce au nevoie de tine pentru a le rosti

briza de la o noua cotitura a strazii
acel suflu ce alina durerea

fagurele ce era o piele naparlita de sarpe
raspunsul pasarii bici*, prea rapid sa poata fi intrerupt

ridicatura din strada, lumina din crapatura usii,
pitigoiul* asteptand in spatele umarului meu

unicul cuvant pentru a-ti alina plecarea,
cadoul ambalat, sfintii mei pierduti,

Logosul, talisman, tipul de diagnostic,
munca intr-o armonie perfecta*, aparenta*.

*an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia, its whip-crack call a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is a dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white cheek patch and crest. The male and female are similar in plumage.

*It is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae, the Australian robins. It is endemic to the islands of New Zealand, ranging across the main islands as well as several of the outlying islands. The Tomtit is a small (13cm, 11g) bird with a large head and a short bill. The male North Island subspecies has black head, back, wings (with a white wing bar) and a white belly.
 

*”pitch” is a word which has various meanings. In the original text the author says “in perfect pitch”( the work in perfect pitch). I understood pitch as refering to music- how high or low a note or sound is. A “perfect pitch” refers to a note which is played or sung at exactly the correct level. Therfore, I translated in “perfect pitch” by “armonie perfecta”(perfect harmony).

*Jizz is a term used by birders to describe the overall impression or appearance of a bird garnered from such features as shape, posture, flying style or other habitual movements, size and colouration, combined with voice, habitat and location. Sean Dooley described jizz as "the indefinable quality of a particular species, the 'vibe' it gives off" and notes that although it is "dismissed by many as some kind of birding alchemy, there is some physical basis to the idea of jizz." An analogy for jizz might be identifying a friend across the street by the way they stand, sit, or walk: you recognize the person by their mannerisms even though you cannot see your friend's face. Therefore, my translation for “jizz” is “aparenta” (appearance).