Poem
Nano Shabtai
NAME #2
When I was little before I went to bed, my father, a big experton Greek mythology,
would make up songs and tell me stories:
“In the seventh century B.C. lived Mimnermos, the great poet.
He had a lover and her name was Nano,
a beautiful and very charming girl,
and he loved her so much that he wrote
a book named after
Nano . . .”
But his poems
were eaten by moths
and the poet
left his life
all trace of their love forgotten
still, there’s proof
it isn’t just a story
even though he’s dead
it’s true it happened
so long ago
there, in Greece
one proof’s still here.
© Translation: 2009, Lisa Katz
השם 2
השם 2
לפני השינה, כשהייתי קטנה, היה אבי, שהוא מומחה גדול
,במיתולוגיה יוונית
:ממציא שירים ומספר לי סיפורים
.לפני הספירה, במאה השביעית, חי מימנרמוס, המשורר הגדול"
.למימנרמוס היתה אהובה, ושמה היה ננו
,ננו היתה נערה יפה ומקסימה מאוד
והוא אהב אותה כל כך, עד כדי כך שהוא כתב לה
:ספר, שמו כשמה
"...ננו
אך את שיריו
אכל העש
ואת חייו
המשורר נטש
זכר שיר אהבתם נשכח
עם זאת, יש עדויות שמוכיחות
שכל זה לא סתם דמיונות
למרות שהוא כבר מת
היה זה באמת
באותה העת
מזמן מזמן
שם, ביוון
.אחת מהן עוד כאן
© 2006, Nano Shabtai
From: The Iron Girl
Publisher: Yedioth Ahronoth and Hemed Books, Tel Aviv
From: The Iron Girl
Publisher: Yedioth Ahronoth and Hemed Books, Tel Aviv
Poems
Poems of Nano Shabtai
Close
NAME #2
When I was little before I went to bed, my father, a big experton Greek mythology,
would make up songs and tell me stories:
“In the seventh century B.C. lived Mimnermos, the great poet.
He had a lover and her name was Nano,
a beautiful and very charming girl,
and he loved her so much that he wrote
a book named after
Nano . . .”
But his poems
were eaten by moths
and the poet
left his life
all trace of their love forgotten
still, there’s proof
it isn’t just a story
even though he’s dead
it’s true it happened
so long ago
there, in Greece
one proof’s still here.
© 2009, Lisa Katz
From: The Iron Girl
From: The Iron Girl
NAME #2
When I was little before I went to bed, my father, a big experton Greek mythology,
would make up songs and tell me stories:
“In the seventh century B.C. lived Mimnermos, the great poet.
He had a lover and her name was Nano,
a beautiful and very charming girl,
and he loved her so much that he wrote
a book named after
Nano . . .”
But his poems
were eaten by moths
and the poet
left his life
all trace of their love forgotten
still, there’s proof
it isn’t just a story
even though he’s dead
it’s true it happened
so long ago
there, in Greece
one proof’s still here.
© 2009, Lisa Katz
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère