Cum oceanu-ntaratat

By Mihai Eminescu (Premiul I Convorbiri literare, Colocviul M. Eminescu, Iasi)

Cum oceanu-ntaratat turbatu-i!
Racnind inalta bratele-i spumate,
De nori s-acata,-n bolta lumii bate
Pana furtuna-l reimpinge-n patu-i.

Salbatecul! ’Van fulgeri fricosate
Apara cerul… El incredintatu-i
Ca bolta cea albastra e palatu-i;
Cu-asalt s-o ia el vrea – ca pe-o cetate.

Ranit de fulgere, el se inmoaie
Si c-o poveste il adoarme-o boare
Si-n vis – un cer in fundu-i se indoaie.

Tot ce-a dorit in visul lui el are:
Tarie, stele, luna cea balaie…
Dormind murmura – murmurand tresare.

Oh, How the Rabid Ocean

Oh, how the rabid ocean is enraged!
He growls, reaching out in arms of foam,
Clings to the clouds and knocks on Heaven’s door,
Then at a storm’s push, tumbles as emerged.

He is wild! And no lightning has the might
To save the sky… for, sure that it’s his own,
The ocean wants the blue for him alone,
To have it as his palace - and he’ll fight.

Wounded by lightning, he grows soft and melts,
And the wind fairytales him down to sleep
He’s dreaming – the sky’s moving, down it bends

And he gets all he wished for in his dream:
The arch, the stars, the blond moon in his sands…
Asleep, he murmurs – murmur-startled, deep.

Translated by Ecaterina Mintici

Cum oceanu-ntaratat

By Mihai Eminescu (Premiul II Convorbiri literare, Colocviul M. Eminescu, Iasi)

Cum oceanu-ntaratat turbatu-i!
Racnind inalta bratele-i spumate,
De nori s-acata,-n bolta lumii bate
Pana furtuna-l reimpinge-n patu-i.

Salbatecul! ’Van fulgeri fricosate
Apara cerul… El incredintatu-i
Ca bolta cea albastra e palatu-i;
Cu-asalt s-o ia el vrea – ca pe-o cetate.

Ranit de fulgere, el se inmoaie
Si c-o poveste il adoarme-o boare
Si-n vis – un cer in fundu-i se indoaie.

Tot ce-a dorit in visul lui el are:
Tarie, stele, luna cea balaie…
Dormind murmura – murmurand tresare.

The Restless Ocean

How wild the restless ocean wrinks!
His foamy limbs rise with a roar,
To clouds he clings, knocks at sky’s door
Till from the tempest’s blow he sinks.

The savage! Frightful flashes shield o’er
Skies… That bluish canopy – the ocean thinks –
To him belongs as kings’ palaces to kings;
The fortress's conquest is what he storms for.

But lightning wounds turn him mellow: they send
A tell-tale breeze that lulls him to sleep
In dreaming of skies that hazily bend.

All the ocean has wanted he dreams to his keep:
Vigour and stars and the bright moon blend…
He startles murmuring – murmurs while asleep.
 

Translated by Veronica Bala

Cum oceanu-ntaratat

By Mihai Eminescu (Premiul special Convorbiri literare, Colocviul M. Eminescu, Iasi)

Cum oceanu-ntaratat turbatu-i!
Racnind inalta bratele-i spumate,
De nori s-acata,-n bolta lumii bate
Pana furtuna-l reimpinge-n patu-i.

Salbatecul! ’Van fulgeri fricosate
Apara cerul… El incredintatu-i
Ca bolta cea albastra e palatu-i;
Cu-asalt s-o ia el vrea – ca pe-o cetate.

Ranit de fulgere, el se inmoaie
Si c-o poveste il adoarme-o boare
Si-n vis – un cer in fundu-i se indoaie.

Tot ce-a dorit in visul lui el are:
Tarie, stele, luna cea balaie…
Dormind murmura – murmurand tresare.

Lo! Doth the tantalized ocean rave

Lo! Doth the tantalized ocean rave
And roar and to his foamy arms give vent,
Clings to the clouds and strikes the world’s vault violent
Until the storm return him to his grave.

The savage! ‘N vain is frightful lightning spent
To shield the sky… For he would have it say
The vault’s his palace, in its blue array
And would besiege it – like a battlement.

And wounded by the lightning he will swoon
And with a tale a breeze will stay his spur
He dreams: horizons bending in his womb.

His all he covets, so the dreams aver:
The skies, the thousand stars, the gold-wrought moon…
In sleep he murmurs – murmuring he’ll stir.

Translated by Ileana Grama