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 - pictura olandeza
 

Prefera lumina dupa-amiezei tarzii, cand amurgea
In sufragerie si nu se indura sa aprinda
Lumina electrica inainte de opt.
Sotia lui, nemultumita, ii reprosa ca e posac, insa
Nu il bantuia melancolia, ci doar ii placea
Sa se uite la toate in vazduhul care se intuneca
Asa treptat si imperceptibil, incat se facea ca este
Chiar elementul in care vietuim. Fiecare
Meritam o clipa autentica de splendoare,
Iar aceasta era a lui, acest interior olandez,
In care patrundea si in care se instapanea,
Atat de tihnit si totusi atat de insufletit
Cu detalii: hainele celor doi imprastiate
Pe spatarele fotoliilor, cainele care fugarea un pantof,
Fereastra larg deschisa, lumina orei tarzii de dupa-amiaza.

Traducere: Oana Avornicesei