RUTH FAINLIGHT

A Fairy Story

The princess in the fairy story
Discovered that a happy ending
Had unexpected consequences.
The castle in the wood concealed
A certain chamber. Her knight revealed
A taste for flagellation. And when
He tired of protests and capitulation,
He rode away - until another kingdom,
Dragon, maiden who could not be won
By any simpler method, was stumbled on.

He then would stay, enter the lists.
He loved the risk, the praise, that combat
Or the guessing game where death
Remained the final forfeit. He loved
A distraught princess, never could resist.
Their fear attracted, their wavering spirit.
 

Once upon a time, their taming was
The reason for his quest, but now exhaustion,
Boredom, made him pleased his dragon-
Surrogate could test them first.
If they survived the monster's ardent breath
That smoky taint made them delicious.

The rescued princesses compared
Sad stories, boasted of their sufferings,
Exaggerating the ordeal.
They dressed each others' hair, changed
Robes and jewels, waited impatiently
To see the girl who next would join them.

One day, outside the crumbling walls
Of some obscure and unimportant
Principality, the knight was bested.
The dragon fled, dragging bruised coils
Through hedges, across muddy plough-land.
The princess would not follow him,
But turned her back and went inside the town.
The watchers were not more nonplussed.

The knight rode home, sent messages
To all his friends. They drank and sang,
Tortured his wives - they had a ball.
Next day he bade farewell to each
Blood-brother, each noble companion,
Vowed the remaining years to penance
Somewhere far from this vile shambles.

But first, before he set off with his squire
Down that faint narrow path which lured
Deep into the misty forest,
A splendid tomb must be constructed:
Memorial to those princesses,
Obedient victims of his destiny.
The monument still stands, although
The castle fell to ruins long ago.
The knight died on a battlefield.
Their legend: fatalistic, gory,
Fit matter for a fairy story.

©Ruth Fainlight
Published with the author's permission

RUTH FAINLIGHT

Povesti cu zane?

Printesa din povestile cu zane
Descoperì ca orice se termina cu bine
Se va continua, de fapt, cum nu te-astepti.
Castelul din padure
Isi va dezvalui unghere-ascunse. Nici printul ei poate nu e departe
De Barba-Albastra. Asta pentru ca atunci
Cand pana si impotrivirea si protestul ei il plictisesc,
O paraseste, plecand in cautarea unui nou regat
In care-un alt dragon si o fecioara noua
Sa-i dea din nou de lucru.

Acolo sta, tot pregatindu-se de lupta.
Adora riscul, laudele din final, toata-aventura asta
Si jocul pe ghicite in care numai moartea
Mai poate sta de gaj. Moare
Dupa fecioarele-n pericol, e absolut innebunit.
Teama lor, asta-l atrage, nesiguranta.

Candva demult ce cauta
Era sa le-mblanzeasca, dar iata ca acum, prea obosit,
Prea plictisit, e de-acord ca aliatul lui, dragonul,
Sa le provoace primul.
Si daca el nu le rapune-n lupta, focul suflat in sus pe nari
Le va invalui in fum, si vor avea aroma-aceea delicioasa.

Printesele salvate isi tot istorisesc
Povestile si, mandre, isi pun tot chinul in balanta,
Exagerand pe ici pe colo.
Se pieptana una pe alta, isi imprumuta
Haine, bijuterii, si-astepta apoi cu nerabdare
Sa vada urmatoarea victima.

Dar iata ca-ntr-o zi, in afara zidurilor in ruine
Ale unui regat sau altuia, printul este infrant.
Dragonul isi ia iute talpasita, cu solzii rupti
Picandu-i prin tufisuri, impiedicandu-se-n namol.
Printesa nu il mai urmeaza
Ci ii intoarce spatele, senina, reintorcandu-se-n palat.
Nici privitorii nu-si pot crede ochilor.

Calare, printul se intoarce-acasa, trimite vorba
Prietenilor, camarazilor. Beau si canta
Ii osandesc toate sotiile - petrec pe cinste.
A doua zi printul isi ia ramas-bun de la fiecare
Frate de cruce, fiecare cavaler de-ncredere
Si jura sa isi petreaca restul zilelor ispasindu-si greselile
Undeva departe de toata nebunia zilnica.

Dar mai intai, inainte de a pleca cu pajul sau
Pe poteca ingusta ce te ademeneste inainte,
Tot inainte spre padurea adanca,
tine neaparat sa ridice-un monument
In amintirea tuturor printeselor
Ce si-au abandonat menirea pentru-a lui.
Si-acum e-acolo monumentul, desi
Castelul de mult e in ruine.
Printul a cazut in lupta.
Toata povestea lor, neagra, insangerata
E ca povestile cu zane, cand le-ntrevezi esent-adevarata.

Traducere: Andreea Diaconu (MTTLC present student)