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.

Alina Stan

John Mole
 

Patinatorii

"Aceasta mica planeta albastra este casa unor personaje deosebite– noi.”
Janette Winterson

Patinatorii de la Centrul Rockefeller,
Asa cum fac in fiecare an,
Au pus fierul pe gheata
In lanturi familiale extinse
Sau in legaturi intime de cuplu,

Iar modelele pe care le fac
Reprezinta frecventele
Unui Craciun la New York
Ce emite in direct
Acest mesaj global,

Cum ca dragostea este tenace,
Iar fiecare respiratie calda
Care pluteste in eter
Prin neonul aglomerat
Soseste invaluita in stralucire,

Datorita pierderii lor
Sunt deja fantome,
Desi isi vor aminti
Doar mana dintr-o manusa
Sau bratul din jurul taliei,

Iar a pieri neiubit
De pe aceasta planeta mica si albastra
Aceasta lume in care ne-am nascut,
Cu gloriile si greselile ei,
E tot ce se putea intampla mai rau.

Asa ca patinatorii se inghesuie
In Centrul Rockefeller,
Cei morti si cei vii
Cu afirmatii ferme,
Si gratie retinuta

Pe masura ce patinoarul sclipeste,
In stralucirea lui de diamant
Nefiindu-i frica de umbrele inalte
Ale noptii reci,
Dincolo de cerul nemarginit.