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
Ambianta olandeza

Ii placea dupa-amiaza tarzie ce se stingea usor
In sufragerie si nu vroia sa aprinda
Lumina pana dupa opt.
Sotia lui se plangea, il facea morocanos, dar
Nu era vorba de melancolie, pur si simplu ii placea
Cum se vedeau lucrurile in lumina ce palea
Atat de incet si imperceptibil incat parea
Insusi elementul in care traim. Fiecare barbat
Si femeie merita un moment de adevarata maretie
Si acesta era al lui, aceasta ambianta olandeza, patrunsa
Si posedata, atat de linistita si totusi atat de plina
De detalii: hainele lor aruncate
Pe spatarele fotoliilor, cainele urmarind un pantof
Fereastra deschisa larg, lumina unei dupa-amieze tarzii.
 

Traducere: Ruxandra Buluc