Poem
Piotr Sommer
Żegary in August
And yet the grapes this yearhave not forgotten, they still remember
how to be good, despite
all the days
marked scrupulously
in the calendar, and despite the very
different places, since
next to the date one could enter a name
from the calendar of places.
And even now nothing good can be thought
of someone like you, only the days
carry on oblivious
to other days, regardless of
whatever happened between them –
long evenings, short nights –
and what happened, tell me
if you know, ok?
© Translation: 2009, Christian Hawkey and William Martin
ŻEGARY IN AUGUSTUS
En toch waren de druiven dat jaarnog niet vergeten, ze weten nog
hoe goed te zijn, ondanks
al die dagen
zo exact aangegeven
op de kalender en ondanks de volstrekt
ongelijke plaatsen, want naast de datum
kun je ook een naam schrijven
uit de plaatsenkalender.
En verder valt er niets goeds te bedenken
over iemand als jij, alleen gaan de dagen
almaar voort zonder herinnering
aan andere dagen, ongeacht wat
daartussen is voorgevallen –
lange avonden, korte nachten –
maar wat is er dan gebeurd, zeg het
als je het weet, goed?
© Vertaling: 2009, Tsead Bruinja en Karol Lesman
ŻEGARY W SIERPNIU
A jednak tego roku winogronajeszcze nie zapomniały, pamiętają
jak być dobre, mimo
tych wszystkich dni
oznakowanych skrupulatnie
w kalendarzu i mimo całkiem
niepodobnych miejsc, bo obok daty
można by wpisać jakąś nazwę
z kalendarza miejsc.
I dalej nic dobrego nie da się pomyśleć
o kimś jak ty, tylko dni
wciąż niosą się bez pamięci
o innych dniach, bez wględu na to
co zaszło między nimi –
długie wieczory, krótkie noce –
a co się wydarzyło, powiedz
jeżeli wiesz, dobrze?
© 2009, Piotr Sommer
From: Dni i noce
Publisher: Biuro Literackie, Wrocław
From: Dni i noce
Publisher: Biuro Literackie, Wrocław
Poems
Poems of Piotr Sommer
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Żegary in August
And yet the grapes this yearhave not forgotten, they still remember
how to be good, despite
all the days
marked scrupulously
in the calendar, and despite the very
different places, since
next to the date one could enter a name
from the calendar of places.
And even now nothing good can be thought
of someone like you, only the days
carry on oblivious
to other days, regardless of
whatever happened between them –
long evenings, short nights –
and what happened, tell me
if you know, ok?
© 2009, Christian Hawkey and William Martin
From: Dni i noce
From: Dni i noce
Żegary in August
And yet the grapes this yearhave not forgotten, they still remember
how to be good, despite
all the days
marked scrupulously
in the calendar, and despite the very
different places, since
next to the date one could enter a name
from the calendar of places.
And even now nothing good can be thought
of someone like you, only the days
carry on oblivious
to other days, regardless of
whatever happened between them –
long evenings, short nights –
and what happened, tell me
if you know, ok?
© 2009, Christian Hawkey and William Martin
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