Monday, January 17, 2011

The closed eye -Ana Blandiana

Today, I would like to present to you the poetry of Ana Blandiana.


Her poetry was censored and its publishing banished during the communist years due to political reasons. She continued to be an active presence in the political environment after the fall of the Eastern regimes in 1989, and she took over the presidency of P.E.N. Romania in 1990.

Yet what I like most of her poetry is the melancholic voice and feminine gracefulness of her language. Here is a poem I recently found online (in Romanian ) and translated for you.[1]



The Closed Eye


Not for a moment did I dream to close my eyes
for fear that

I will crush the world between my eyelids,

I will hear it crumble with a loud crunch

a peanut between my teeth.

How long can I steal my sleep?

How long could I

keep it alive?

I watch gaze with despair,

work up my pity for

this defenseless universe

that will perish in my closed eye.




1. The original "Ochiul inchis" can be found here.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

that is very beautiful - thank you for translating for us

Ana said...

David,
Thank you for your visit.
I am glad you enjoyed it and hope you will return.

rdl said...

very nice. thank you for translating. i like seeing the original, as i've never seen roumanian. my grandmother was from there.

Ana said...

You are much welcomed.
Thank you for visiting - I will continue translating as time allows...