HILARY ELFICK

Wasps

 

Wasps in the eaves again. This year I hope
he will not notice and squeeze his bitter puffs
to scourge their nesting, burn the Vanities.

The first who ever made papyrus,
they’re building still the finest hilarodies,
laying down the tissues of their findings.

I see them best from the secret place of my bathtub
(distorted through the chequered slit of window)
and listen to their coming and their going

sometimes stacking in a zigzag path
querulous, impatient for unloading.
I want to know what scented halls

they traded in today, and whom they met,
what shady deals, the small talk and
the messages they carry, but most of all

the secrets that they lay between their fragile
folio slips above my head where water pipes
are humming and refilling in our loft. I wonder

if he’s spotted them, stands watching in the yard.
Perhaps, ageing gently, he won’t notice them this summer.
Those distrusting paper often fear they may be stung.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Viespi

Viespi din nou in zori. Sper ca anul asta
sa nu le observe si cu suflu-i aspru
sa le spulbere* cuibul, sa arda frivolitatile.*

Primele inventatoare ale papirusului,
plamadesc cea mai fina tesatura,
depunand urzeala descoperirii lor.

Le zaresc cel mai bine dintr-un ungher al baii
( deformate prin spartura striata a geamului)
si le aud cum vin si pleaca

uneori formand un sir in zig zag
lamentandu-se nerabdatoare sa se debaraseze.*
vreau sa stiu prin ce sali inmiresmate

au umblat astazi, si pe cine au intalnit,
ce afaceri sumbre, discutii marunte
si ce mesaj aduc, dar mai presus de toate

ce secrete se ascund intre aripile lor fragile
alunecand deasupra capului meu, unde tevile
de apa susura si ne umplu hambarul. Ma intreb

daca le-a observat stand de veghe in gradina.
Probabil batranetea il va impiedica sa le vada vara asta.
Cei neincrezatori in hartie, se tem adesea sa nu fie intepati.

*“scourge” ( in the original text) suggest the idea of a cruel, punishing action- my choice was the verb “a spulbera” ( to blow/ to destroy) which preserves the connotations of the English verb “to scourge”. Its Romanian synonymous “a biciu” does not have the same meaning and in addition it also have a series of different connotations.

*« the Vanities » (frivolities « frivolitatile » in my translation) hints at ephemeral nature of all earthly creatures and things. It is associated with the verb « burn » in order to underline this idea of death, disapearance and destruction. The conotations are also emphazised by the beginning of the line « to scourge their nesting » ( « sa le spulbere cuibul ») – it focuses on the fact that what someone has done can be very easily undone.

*In the original text “unloading” (to get rid of a burden) a literal translation (such as ‘sa-si descarce povara’) would have been to long. The verb a “debarasa” (to get rid of something) suggests the same idea.