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 voalata a dupa-amiezii tarzii
Din sufragerie si nu aprindea
Lumina electrica decat dupa ora opt.
Sotia lui se plangea, ii spunea ca e posac, dar
Nu era un caz de melancolie, atata doar ca ii placea
Cum aratau lucrurile in timp ce se intuneca
Asa treptat si pe nesimtite, incat parea
Insasi mediul in care traim. Fiecare barbat
Si fiecare femeie merita o clipa adevarata de maretie
Si acesta era al lui, acest interior olandez, in care intra
Si pe care il poseda, asa de linistit si totusi asa de incarcat
De detalii: hainele uzate ale cuplului, raspandite
Pe spatarele fotoliilor, cainele alergand cu un pantof
Fereastra larg deschisa, lumina dupa-amiezii tarzii.
 

Traducere: Gabriela Burcea