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The Past by Henryk Cierniak
(Translated from Polish by John Guzlowski)

July 1, 2015 Contributed By: Henryk Cierniak, John Guzlowski

The house was nothing
just a building site, thirteen years ago

Remember it?

It’s still nothing
my son is sixteen

How can I forget?

He’s nothing but an ordinary boy
actually a bit troublesome

instead of putting up insulation
he and his friends go to the village

he walks like he’s some kind of god
holding the flute, the one with
the ivory mouthpiece
the family souvenir

his long hair waving
in the movement of his head
and the wind that blends all of it
together with the flute’s melody
in that cold June morning
whose chill I can still feel
all and again somewhere beside me

what has changed is only this:

Classifying the action
then the blameworthy idleness
the sentimental painting now

PRZESZŁOŚĆ

Dom dopiero jest w budowie
sytuacja jest młodsza o trzynaście lat
przypomnij sobie
dom w stanie surowym
syn ma szesnaście lat

Tamten czas wciąż żyje obok mnie
S. jest jeszcze normalnym chłopcem
tylko trochę sprawiającym kłopoty
zamiast kłaść styropian
wychodzi z kolegami „na wieś”
idzie pośrodku a w ręku flet podłużny
z ustnikiem ze słoniowej kości
pamiątka rodzinna
jego długie włosy powiewają
kołysane ruchem głowy
i wiatrem co na zawsze
zrósł się z melodią fletu
w tym czerwcowym chłodnym ranku
którego chłód do dziś czuję
ciągle gdzieś obok siebie

zmieniła się tylko
klasyfikacja czynu
z nagannego nieróbstwa
na obrazek sentymentalny

Return to table of contents for Issue 9 Summer 2015.

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Filed Under: Translation Posted On: July 1, 2015

Further Reading

12.13 by Martial
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Among the rich, anger’s no rarity: hatred comes cheaper than charity.     Genus, Aucte, lucri divites habent iram: odisse quam donare vilius constat.     Return to table of contents for Issue 12 Winter 2018.

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