HILARY ELFICK

Wolf
 

This wolf whispers on the hillside,
other people’s gardens, not yet mine,
with violet breath leaves spoors of
lavender; I still can stoop my fingers.

This wolf, whiter than bleach, may
slip out from a stone façade hiding
a sudden doorway. Who could
have guessed he’d be so clean!

This wolf will not negotiate. His
six fur spikes brush off sunstroke.
When his eyes turn he can change
the colour of a room and yet he
wraps his sharpness in a canny
folded jumper where grey cats
might curl to sleep, his spongy
heap burying those quiet incisors.

I’ll wait for him to sneak into my
sight-line, wiring the contours of
this mountain track at home among
the boulders of the Baja. I’ll wait
for him in a thinning orchard where
olive trees have only just been pruned.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Lupul

Acest lup sopteste pe coasta dealului,
gradinile altora, nu inca ale mele,
cu o adiere violeta lasa urme de
lavanda; inca-mi pot indoi degetele.

Acest lup, mai alb decat zapada, ar putea
aluneca de pe o fatada de piatra ca ascunde
o intrare secreta. Cine ar fi putut sti
ca este atat de curat!

Acest lup nu va negocia.
cei sase tepi de blana il apara de insolatie.*
Cand isi intoarce privirile poate schimba
Culoarea unei incaperi si totusi
isi ascunde taisul intr-un pled
inselator in care pisicile gri
s-ar putea ghemui sa doarma, invelisul sau poros*
acopera acei incisivi tacuti.

Voi astepta sa se furiseze in
raza-mi vizuala, leganandu-se pe contururile
acestei poteci de munte catre casa printre
stancile din Baja.* Il voi astepta
intr-o livada in care
maslinii abia au fost curatati.

*I translated “brush off” by “apara”(protect) because the literal meaning of the verb to “brush off” ( to rid of, to ignore) wouldn’t have expresses the same idea. “apara” can be very well associated with the noun “sunstroke”
 

*“spongy heap” in the original text. I translated “heap”( pile) by “invelis” ( cover) because it merges with the verb from the fllowing line (‘burying’- ‘ascunde’-hide- in my translation) and it stresses the idea of something hidden - such as “those quiet incisors” (incisive tacuti)

 
*a state in Mexico.