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.

Stefania Ileana Tarcomnicu

John Mole
 

Patinatorii

“Aceasta planeta albastra mica este caminul a ceva special-
noi.” Jeanette Winterson

Patinatorii de la Rockefeller Center
Asa cum fac in fiecare an
Au adus fierul pe gheata
Inlantuiti fiecare cu familia lui
Sau intim, cu perechea lui,

Si formele pe care le fac
Sunt frecventa
Unui Craciun la New York
Care plutesc in aer
Cu mesajul unanim,

Ca dragostea este tenace,
Ca fiecare respiratie calda
Care pluteste in eter
Prin cerul inorat si luminat de neoane
Vine ca o ghirlanda in stralucirea lor.

Ca, din cauza pierderii lor
Sunt deja fantome
Cu o mana in manusa
Sau cu o mana in sold
Vor fi ce isi aduc aminte,

Si o sa dispara neiubite
De pe aceasta planeta albastra mica,
Aceasta lume faurita de noi,
Este o reusita si un esec,
Este cel mai rau lucru care se putea intampla.

Asa ca patinatorii se ingramadesc
La Rockefeller Center,
Vii si mortii
Incapatanati sa se afirme,
O gratie ezitanta

In timp ce ringul de gheata straluceste
Cu licarirea lui de diamant
Fara sa se teama de frigul noptii
Cu umbre care se inalta
Spre cerul fara sfarsit.