JOHN MOLE

The Skaters

'This tiny blue planet is home to something special - ourselves.’
Jeanette Winterson

The skaters at the Rockefeller Center
As they do each year
Have set iron to ice
In extended family chains
Or intimate links of coupledom,

And the patterns they make
Are the frequencies
Of a New York Christmas
Going out on the air
With this global message,

That love is tenacious,
That every warm breath
Which floats on the ether
Through clouded neon
Comes wreathed in its glow,

That because of their loss
They are ghosts already,
Though a hand in a glove
Or an arm round a waist
Will be what they remember,

And to vanish unloved
From this tiny blue planet,
This world of our making,
Its glory and error,
Is the worst that can happen.

So the skaters crowd in
To the Rockefeller Center,
The dead and the living
With willed affirmation,
A hesitant grace

As the ice-rink shines
In its diamond brightness
Unafraid of the cold night's
Towering shadows
And beyond the endless sky.

Cristine Niculae

John Mole
 

Patinatorii

“Aceasta micuta planeta albastra gazduieste ceva special-pe noi insine.’- Jeanette Winterson

Patinatorii de la Centrul Rockefeller
Asa cum fac in fiecare an
Incep sa patineze
In grupuri de familii numeroase
Sau cupluri in intimitatea lor,

Iar figurile pe care le fac
Sunt frecventele
Unui Craciun din New York
Ce emite in eter
Acest mesaj universal,

Ca dragostea este staruitoare,
Ca fiecare respiratie calda
Ce pluteste in eter
Prin neonul intunecat
Ajunge ca o cununa in stralucirea ei,

Ca din cauza pierderii lor,
Devin deja fantome,
Desi o mana in manusa
Sau un brat in jurul taliei
Vor fi tot ce-si vor aminti,

Si cel mai rau lucru ce se poate intampla
Este sa dispara fara a fi fost iubit
De pe aceasta micuta planeta albastra,
Lumea savarsita de noi,
Cu reusite si esecuri.

Astfel se ingramadesc patinatorii
La Centrul Rockefeller,
Cei morti si cei vii,
Cu o vointa sustinuta,
Cu o gratie sovaitoare

In timp ce patinoarul straluceste
Ca un diamant
Ce nu se teme de umbrele noptii reci
Ce se inalta
Si dincolo de cerul nesfarsit.