DAVID LEHMAN
Dutch Interior

He liked the late afternoon light as it dimmed
In the living room, and wouldn't switch on
The electric lights until past eight o'clock.
His wife complained, called him cheerless, but
It wasn't a case of melancholy; he just liked
The way things looked in air growing darker
So gradually and imperceptibly that it seemed
The very element in which we live. Every man
And woman deserves one true moment of greatness
And this was his, this Dutch interior, entered
And possessed, so tranquil and yet so busy
With details: the couple's shed clothes scattered
On the backs of armchairs, the dog chasing a shoe,
The wide open window, the late afternoon light.

(1991)
from Valentine Place by David Lehman (Scribner, 1996)

DAVID LEHMAN
Interior olandez

Ii placea lumina dupa-amiezei tarzii asa cum scadea
In camera de zi, si n-ar fi aprins vreun bec electric
Mai inainte de-a fi trecut de ora opt.
Sotia lui se vaieta, il gasea lipsit de veselie, dar
Acesta nu era un simplu caz de melancolie; ci, doar ii placea
Felul in care lucrurile se deseneaza in aerul ce se intuneca
Atat de-ncet si pe nesimtite incat i se parea
Ca-i insusi elementul in care vietuim. Fiecare barbat
Si fiecare femeie merita un moment de glorie, adevarat,
Si acesta era doar al lui; acest interior olandez, patruns
Si posedat, atat de linistit, si totusi atat de incarcat
De detalii: vesmintele imprastiate ale celor doi atarnand
Pe spatele fotoliilor, cainele vanand vreun pantof desperecheat,
Fereastra larg deschisa, lumina dupa-amiezei tarzii.
 

Traducere: Elena-Carmen Bobocescu