Below me half a world I see outspread;
Above, blue heaven; around, peaks of snow;
And yet the happy pulse of life is slow,
I dream of distant places, pleasures dead.
The woods of Lithuania I would tread
Where happy-throated birds sing songs I know;
Above the trembling marshland I would go
Where chill-winged curlews dip and call o’er head.
A tragic, lonely terror grips my heart,
A longing for some peaceful, gentle place,
And memories of youthful love I trace.
Unto my childhood home I long to start,
And yet if all the leaves my name could cry
She would not pause nor heed as she passed by.
Translated by Edna Worthley Underwood
U stóp moich kraina dostatków i krasy,
Nad głową niebo jasne, obok piękne lice;
Dlaczegoż stąd ucieka serce w okolice
Dalekie, i niestety! jeszcze dalsze czasy?
Litwo! piały mi wdzięczniéj twe szumiące lasy,
Niż słowiki Bajdaru, Salhiry dziewice;
I weselszy deptałem twoje trzęsawice,
Niż rubinowe morwy, złote ananasy.
Tak daleki! tak różna wabi mię ponęta;
Dlaczegoż roztargniony wzdycham bezustanku,
Do téj którą kochałem w dni moich poranku?
Ona w lubéj dziedzinie, która mi odjęta,
Gdzie jéj wszystko o wiernym powiada kochanku;
Depcąc świéże me ślady czyż o mnie pamięta?
Trembling the Muslim comes to kiss the foot of your crags,
Mast on Crimea’s raft, towering Chatir Dah!
Minaret of the World! Mightiest Padishah Of Mountains!
From the plain Fugitive into the Clouds!
As great Gabriel once stood over portals of Eden,
You at Heaven’s Gate watch, wrapped in your forest cloak,
And, in turban of clouds with lightning flashes bespangled,
On your forehead you wear janissaries of dread.
Hot sun may roast our limbs, mountain mists blind our eyes,
Locusts may eat our grain, infidels burn our homes,
You, Chatir Dah, would still, unmindful of man’s fate,
Rise between earth and sky, Dragoman of Creation;
Far spreads the plain at your feet, home of men and of thunder,
But you can only hear what God to nature speaks.
Translated by John Saly
Drżąc muślemin całuje stopy twéj opoki,
Maszcie Krymskiego statku, wieki Czatyrdachu!
O minarecie świata! o gór padyszachu!
Ty nad skały poziomu uciekłszy w obłoki,
Siedzisz sobie pod bramą niebios, jak wysoki
Gabryel pilnujący edeńskiego gmachu.
Ciemny las twoim płaszczem, a janczary strachu
Twój turban z chmur haftują błyskawic potoki.
Nam czy slońce dopieka, czyli mgła ocienia,
Czy sarańcza plon zetnie, czy gaur pali domy;
Czatyrdachu, ty zawsze głuchy, nieruchomy,
Między światem i niebem jak drogman stworzenia,
Podesławszy pod nogi ziemie, ludzi, gromy,
Słuchasz tylko, co mówi Bóg do przyrodzenia.
Dead trees are
like stopped wind
waiting
for the call to take off
Swung by the breeze of the Baltic Sea
sleeping legendary giants
they keep in their roots
an amber of hope
And to these dead trees, birds
the treasure hunters
gauge their eyes
Translation by Andrzej Osóbka
Drzewa umarłe są
zastygłym wiatrem
który czeka
na wezwanie do lotu
… and a war broke out
There were good reasons
to be mortally angry with life
to level us to the ground with heavy machinery
After the agreement of three parties
(two were fighting and the third one benefited)
the cornerstones came to a bloom
and again somebody forgot to build a bridge
in all four directions
Translation by Andrzej Osóbka
…no i wybuchła sobie wojna
Pogniewano się śmiertelnie na życie
i wystarczyło pieniędzy
żeby nas zrównać z ziemią ciężkim sprzętem
a generałowie nie uważałi
i w płaczu wdów nie zabrakło tonacji
na nowy hymn zrzeszenia sierot
Po uzgodnieniu trzech stron
/dwóch się biło a trzeci skorzystał/
kamienie węgielne zakwitły
ale znowu zapomniano wybudować most
w cztery strony świata
You’ve left the big storms
behind you now.
You didn’t ask then
why you were born,
where you came from, where you were going to,
you were just there in the storm,
in the fire.
But it’s possible to live
in the everyday as well,
in the grey quiet day,
set potatoes, rake leaves,
carry brushwood.
There’s so much to think about here in the world,
one life is not enough for it all.
After work you can fry bacon
and read Chinese poems.
Old Laertes cut briars,
dug round his fig trees,
and let the heroes fight on at Troy.
Translation by Robin Fulton
Dei store stormane
har du attum deg.
Dí¥ spurde du ikkje
kvi du var til,
kvar du kom ifrí¥ eller kvar du gjekk,
du berre var i stormen,
var i elden.
Men det gjeng an í¥ leva
i kvardagen òg,
den grí¥ stille dagen,
setja potetor, raka lauv
og bera ris,
det er so mangt í¥ tenkja pí¥ her i verdi,
eit manneliv strekk ikkje til.
Etter strævet kan du steikja flesk
og lesa kinesiske vers.
Gamle Laertes skar klunger
og grov um fikentrei,
og let heltane slí¥st ved Troja.
O Virgin pure, immaculate/ O Lady Theotokos
O Virgin Mother, Queen of all/ and fleece which is all dewy
More radiant than the rays of sun/ and higher than the heavens
Delight of virgin choruses/ superior to Angels.
Much brighter than the firmament/ and purer than the sun’s light
More holy than the multitude/ of all the heav’nly armies.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
O Ever Virgin Mary/ of all the world, the Lady
O bride all pure, immaculate/ O Lady Panagia
O Mary bride and Queen of all/ our cause of jubilation
Majestic maiden, Queen of all/ O our most holy Mother
More hon’rable than Cherubim/ beyond compare more glorious
than immaterial Seraphim/ and greater than angelic thrones.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Rejoice, O song of Cherubim/ Rejoice, O hymn of angels
Rejoice, O ode of Seraphim/ the joy of the archangels
Rejoice, O peace and happiness/ the harbor of salvation
O sacred chamber of the Word/ flow’r of incorruption
Rejoice, delightful paradise/ of blessed life eternal
Rejoice, O wood and tree of life/ the fount of immortality.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
I supplicate you, Lady/ now do I call upon you
And I beseech you, Queen of all/ I beg of you your favor
Majestic maiden, spotless one/ O Lady Panagia
I call upon you fervently/ O sacred, hallowed temple
Assist me and deliver me/ protect me from the enemy
And make me an inheritor/ of blessed life eternal.
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Translation from Wikipedia. Wikipedia contributors, “Agni Parthene,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Agni_Parthene&oldid=302765559 (accessed November 14, 2009).
