DAVID LEHMAN
Dutch Interior

He liked the late afternoon light as it dimmed
In the living room, and wouldn't switch on
The electric lights until past eight o'clock.
His wife complained, called him cheerless, but
It wasn't a case of melancholy; he just liked
The way things looked in air growing darker
So gradually and imperceptibly that it seemed
The very element in which we live. Every man
And woman deserves one true moment of greatness
And this was his, this Dutch interior, entered
And possessed, so tranquil and yet so busy
With details: the couple's shed clothes scattered
On the backs of armchairs, the dog chasing a shoe,
The wide open window, the late afternoon light.

(1991)
from Valentine Place by David Lehman (Scribner, 1996)

DAVID LEHMAN
Interior olandez

Ii placea lumina dupa-amiezii tarzii,
Cand in sufragerie se lasa treptat intunericul,
Si nu aprindea becurile decat dupa ora opt.
Sotia se plangea, spunea ca e posac, totusi
Nu era vorba de melancolie; pur si simplu ii placea
Felul in care aratau lucrurile in lumina ce devenea,
Pe nesimtite, din ce in ce mai slaba,
Incat parea chiar mediul in care traim.
Fiecare dintre noi merita un moment de adevarata maretie
Iar acesta era momentul lui; un interior olandez
In care patrundea si pe care il stapanea, atat de linistit,
Dar si plin de detalii: hainele celor doi imprastiate
Pe spatarele fotoliilor, cainele jucandu-se cu un pantof,
Fereastra larg deschisa, lumina dupa-amiezii tarzii.
 

Traducere: Daniela Oancea