HILARY ELFICK

Alexander Murray

 

I’m going to put Alexander Murray right here
in front of you so you’ll know him when you
meet him, and no strange incidents of dogs at night
will fool you that you got him taped. He’s standing
two feet from a silky oak which he can look at
on his own terms. He is taller than me, quite broad,
and might be strong. Pale even in this sun.
Eye contact is a dangerous game. Sure, he can
hug the tree, his mother, even me, but only if he
wants to, maybe not even then. He might tell you
of a cycle ride he took once on a Swedish island,
remembering each turn, each shift of pace,
each gradient, house, each cow he passed, through
long hours of a Northern summer’s day. He might
ask you what your name is, how long you plan to stay.
Enquire if that was rude. He might tell you
what the soil is like outside, or where you live,
or somewhere else a thousand miles away.
He knows where he is at. Not where you said.

Roxana-Monica Mîndrican

Hilary Elfick
 

Alexander Murray*

Il voi aseza pe Alexander Murray chiar aici
in fata voastra ca sa-l cunoasteti cand
il veti intalni, si sa nu va lasati pacaliti
de vreun incident sau latrat de caini in noapte.
sta la doi pasi de un stejar matasos pe care-l priveste
ca pe unul dintre semenii sai. E mai inalt ca mine, solid,
si puternic. E aproape palid in lumina soarelui.
Contactul vizual e un joc periculos. desigur, poate strange
in brate copacul, pe mama sa, si chiar si pe mine, dar numai
daca vrea, si nu in acea clipa. Poate iti va povesti despre
o drumetie ce a facut-o candva pe o insula suedeza
amintindu-si fiecare cotitura sau schimbare de pas,
fiecare povarnis, casa, fiecare vaca pe langa care a trecut,
in lungile zile de vara nordica. Poate te va va intreba
cum te numesti si cat intentineozi sa ramai.
Te intrebi daca e nepoliticos. Iti va spune, poate,
Cum e solul, sau unde locuiesti,
Sau undeva la mile departare.
El stie unde. Nu acolo unde ai spus tu.

*Alexander Stuart Murray (8 January 1841 – March, 1904), Scottish archaeologist, was born at Arbroath, and educated there, at the Royal High School, Edinburgh and at the Universities of Edinburgh and Berlin.
Alexander Murray= British Army Oficcer ( 1715-1762)