Hello Kathleen,

I’m glad you loved the poem :-)

Here is another one so very well translated, bringing you a sample of Eminescu’s complexity, lieing behind the simplicity of his words.

Down Where The Lonely Poplars Grow

Down where the lonely poplars grow
How often have I erred;
My steps that all the neighbors know
You only have not heard.

Towards your window lighted through
How oft my gaze has flown;
A world entire my secret knew
You only have not known.

A word, a murmur of reply
How often did I pray !
What matters then if I should die,
Enough to live that day;

To know one hour of tenderness,
One hour of lover's night;
To hear you whisper's soft caress
One hour, then come what might!

Had you but granted me a glance
That was not files with scorn,
Out of its shining radiance
A new star had been born.

You would have lived through lives untold
Beyond the ends of time;
O deity with arms so cold,
O marble form sublime!

An idol of some pagan lore
As now no more is seen,
Come down to us from times yore,
From times that long have been.

My worship was of ages gone,
Sad eyes by faith beguiled,
Each generation handed on
From father unto child.

But now I very little care
To walk along that lane,
Nor heed the face I found so fair
Looks out for me in vain;

For you are like them all today
In bearing and in guise,
And I but look on your display
With cold and lifeless eyes.

You should have known to value right
With wondering intent,
And lit your candela at night
To Love that God had sent.

(Transl. by CorneliuM. Popescu)

With friendship,

Anamaria

So fresh thou art

Thou scarcely touchest the soft carpet,
The silk on thee doth rustling stream,
From top to toe so light and lofty,
Thou floatest like an airy dream.

From draping folds like purest marble
Thine image unto me appears,
My whole soul on thine eyes is hanging,
Those eyes so full of joy and tears.

O happy dream of love, so happy,
Thou bride of fairy tales, so mild,
No, do not smile! Thy smile doth show me
How sweet thou art, thou gentle child.

My poor eyes thou canst close for ever
With deepest night's eternal charms,
With thy sweet lips' sweet fondling, whispers,
Embracing me with thy cool arms.

A veiling thought at once now passes
Thy glowing eyes thus covering:
It is the dark renunciation,
The sweetest yearning's shadowing.

Thou go'st away and, well I know it,
To follow thee must I no more,
Thou art for me now lost for ever,
My soul's dear bride, whom I adore.

My only guilt was that I saw thee,
Which I to pardon have no might,
Mine arm I'll stretch for ever vainly
To expiate my dream of light.

Like holy Virgin's purest image
In my fond eyes thou will rise now,
The brightest crown on forehead bearing,
Where dost thou go? When comest thou?

This also have a sung version which I'll post  in the next post.

See you soon :-)

With friendship,

Anamaria

Hello Branka,

The next poem I’m bringing in here I’ll give an entire and special issue – though I’m mentioning it here due to your and Eminescu’s admiration for SCHOPENHAUER ;-)

EVENING STAR is Eminescu’s masterpiece, and he worked upon it over more then 10 years;dressed up like a fairy tale, the poem is the longest love poem ever written,where Eminescu develops his own concept regarding the destiny of a genius. However immortal and with his name never falling into the darkness of oblivion, a genius is forever condemned to unhappiness, neither to be able to make others happy, nor to find their own luck…

… well,this deserves lots more then just a few lines so, lets leave it for another thread and I leave you with the poem here and a fragment of it in audio version here and the poems last stanzas:

-"Descend to me, mild Evening-star
Thou canst glide on a beam,
Enter my forest and my mind
And o'er my good luck gleam!"

As he did it once, into woods,
On hills, his rays he urges,
Guiding throughout so many wilds
The gleaming, moving, surges.

But he falls not as he did once
From his height into swells:
-"What matters thee, clod of dust, if
'Tis me or some one else?

You live in your sphere's narrowness
And luck rules over you -
But in my steady world I feel
Eternal, cold and true!"

With friendship,

Anamaria

Quote:

Anamaria,

Great to see you back and posting forums.

I shall read and enjoy this poets work.

I have much to learn.

Roger

Stars In The Sky

Stars in the sky
Of lone existence
Burn in the distance
Until they die.

After their marks
Masts on ships flutter,
Ocean waves clutter
Wandering barks—

Forts of wood, free,
Floating to splutter
Slow-moving water,
Deserts of sea.

Autumn birds stray
Over far beaches
And boundless reaches
Of cloudy way;

Fly to their fall
In race nocturnal—
Passage eternal—
For that is all.

Blossom of May
Is youth that kindles
Our life that dwindles
And goes away.

For every fate
Spreads fleeting seconds
On wing that beckons
Quiescent state.

Before I die,
Angel lean under
When in my wonder
With grief I sigh:

Why waste, alas,
This fragile flower
Of rapid hour
Given to us?

Translated by

Adrian G. Sahlean