W.B.YEATS

CHOSEN

[from A WOMAN YOUNG AND OLD (1933)]

The lot of love is chosen. I learnt that much
Struggling for an image on the track
Of the whirling Zodiac.
Scarce did he my body touch,
Scarce sank he from the west
Or found a subterranean rest
On the maternal midnight of my breast
Before I had marked him on his northern way,
And seemed to stand although in bed I lay.


I struggled with the horror of daybreak,
I chose it for my lot! If questioned on
My utmost pleasure with a man
By some new-married bride, I take
That stillness for a theme
Where his heart my heart did seem
And both adrift on the miraculous stream
Where – wrote a learned astrologer–
The Zodiac is changed into a sphere.

W.B.YEATS

Ales
(de o batrana tanara femeie)

Destinul iubirii e pecetluit. Stiu atat,
Din lupte duse pentru o imagine de pe un tarat
Drum de zodiac rotund.
Abia-mi atinse trupul,
Abia-l fura apusul,
Sau isi gasi odihna subterana
Pe intunericul matern al pieptului meu
Inainte sa-l observ spre drumul nordic,
Parea ca sta langa mine desi eu ramasesem intinsa.


M-am luptat cu teroarea diminetii,
Astfel mi-am ales soarta!
Daca o sa fiu intrebata de o oarecare mireasa
Despre placerea suprema cu un barbat,
Consider tacerea ca tablou
Unde inima lui se afla, acolo e si a mea.
Si amandoua sunt lasate in voia sortii pe valul miraculos,
Unde – dupa cum a scris un astrolog intelept –
Zodiacul se transforma intr-o sfera.

Traducere: Adriana Munteanu, Second Year English Major