On Far Away and Close at Hand

far away has a pretty face
so pretty it could drive a man crazy
but this one here is kind of nothing,
it’s just here

on Wednesdays far away
is on my left, Saturdays
on my right

Wednesdays it looks as happy as a girl
who’s just bought a new pair of shoes,
or come back from having her hair done.
Dear Lord, how I’d love to get to next to her,
get to know everyone, the names, the sights,
streets, houses, towns,
the whole story of the left hand of space,
the left of far away,
but the closer I get towards her
the further she draws away toward herself

on Saturdays far away is Wednesday in a mirror,
like the face of a girl who’s a little tired,
low in spirit, hair disordered,
hiding herself sometimes behind the smoke from a cigarette,
only the mole on her right cheek recalls
happiness: I am the point you draw,
you go to, you don\'t reach, don’t play the fool,
stay where you are, perhaps it’s you that is
the point I draw, I go to, which I shall reach

the rest of the days I can’t manage
to adjust far away to my position
it creeps up confidential, unexpected,
spins me left to right, front and back,
up and down, inside out, with without,
through and between, because and despite
so that I can’t see it,
catch my breath,
stay on my side

right now that’s all I can tell you
about far away and close at hand,
and me myself, for that matter

O daljini i ovome ovdje

O daljini i ovome ovdje

daljina ima lijepo lice,
da čovjek poludi, toliko lijepo,
a ovo ovdje nema ništa,
ono samo postoji

srijedom je daljina
s moje lijeve strane,
subotom s desne

srijedom izgleda sretno poput djevojke
koja je trenutak prije kupila cipele,
ili se vratila od frizera,
Bože moj, kako bih htio doći do njenog središta,
poznajem sva lica, imena, prizore,
kuće, ulice, gradove,
čitavu povijest lijeve strane prostora,
lijeve strane daljine,
ali kolikogod zakoračim prema njoj,
ona se za toliko odmakne prema sebi

subotom je daljina srijeda u zrcalu,
ipak, lice djevojke kao da je malo umorno,
melankolično, kosa joj se neuredna,
ponekad se skriva iza dima cigarete,
jedino madež na njezinu desnom obrazu
poziva na radost: ja sam ta točka koju crtaš,
kojoj ideš, kojoj ne dolaziš, ne budali,
ostani gdje jesi, možda si upravo ti točka
koju crtam, kojoj idem, kojoj ću doći

u ostale dane daljinu ne uspijevam
prilagoditi svome položaju
pojavljuje se urotnički, iznenada,
zavrti me lijevo-desno, ispred-iza,
gore-dolje, unutra-vani, bez i sa,
kroz i između, zbog i unatoč
tako da je ne mogu vidjeti,
doći do daha,
stati na svoju stranu

i to je uglavnom sve što vam u ovom trenutku
o daljini i ovome ovdje mogu kazati,
i o sebi, uostalom