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
Interiorul Olandez

Ii placea lumina dupa-amiezii tarzii cum se intuneca
In camera de zi, si nu vroia s-aprinda
Luminile electrice pana dupa ora opt.
Nevasta lui se plangea, il numea mohorat, dar
Nu era un caz de melancolie;doar ca lui ii placea
Felul cum lucrurile aratau in aerul care se intuneca
Atat de treptat si de impercebtil ca parea
Chiar elementul in care noi traim. Orice barbat
Si femeie merita un moment de adevarata maretie
Iar acesta era al lui, interiorul olandez, penetrat
Si posedat, atat de linistit si totusi atat de plin
De amanunte: hainele lepadate ale cuplului imprastiate
Pe spatele fotoliilor, cainele vanand un pantof,
Fereastra larg deschisa, lumina dupa-amiezii tarzii.

 

Traducere:

Ursache Irina
Clasa: a XI-a B
C.N. ' Mihai Eminescu'
Buzau