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The present is a present, so be present
Always, behind the known,
the greater unknown…
behind the tedious Latin translation,
the struggle to find French elegance in French -
the private joys of the translator…
that rare intimacy, as a soul to soul
across the divides of language…
‘Laetus in praesens’ says Marsilio Ficino
in his Renaissance colloquial Latin
written up around the wall
of his Academy, such as it was…
The translator – half mechanical,
half philosopher, scribbles down
‘Rejoice in the present’..
and presently, pauses, contemplates…
Is it, was it, as easy as all that?
Sounds good, but is it practical?
In another age, Eckhart Tolle will expound
The Power Of Now – how joy
will follow presence, as the night the day…
The translator, cautious in his guidelines,
contemplates ‘Be present, rejoicing..’
as a poetic alternative… thus satisfying
philosophy as the study of causes…
checks various manuscripts; ah,
it’s written in one as ‘impraesens’…
almost adjectival; as a necessary state:
‘rejoice, being present’ then, perhaps?
Behind the shoulder of the translator,
stands as always, just as does
the unknown at the shoulder of the known,
(not quite nudging, sometimes, the writing arm)
the author…so close, this present moment,
is his presence…
the translator, gifted with a present by the wise,
the presence of the wise,
is wholly present; and that almost
imperceptible joy – recognised only
by the absence of all other things –
which the wise call bliss,
steals like a blessing
from the eternal, timeless, unblemished,
perfect now.
poem by Michael Shepherd
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The So Called Coward And The Traitor
A traitor to his Country many of him do say
He never enlisted to fight in the war far away
But he marches in every anti war parade
Some say cowards are born they cannot be made.
But some have strange ways of defining a coward
By his higher self the man has been empowered
His dad died in war a hero but the son to war said no
In making a stand courage he has to show.
In not going to war he did not rob a young wife
Of the father of her children and the love of her life
And robbed a mother of her beloved son
Many call him a coward and a traitor yet he's not harmed anyone.
The so called coward and the traitor goes out of his way
To help the poor old lady frail, vulnerable and gray
Helps her out when she needs him and never asks her for pay
The young man is my hero of him she does say.
The last post will never be played at his grave
But the so called coward and the traitor in truth is quite brave
He did not go to war distant from his Homeland
And for what he believes in he does make a stand.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I'm a traitor, but I don't consider myself a traitor.
quote by Aldrich Ames
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What the translator - myself in particular - does is not comparable to what the Homeric performer was doing.
quote by Robert Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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And I always read the English translation and always have conversations with my translator, for example about the names. I always have to approve it.
quote by Cornelia Funke
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Ballade adresse a Geoffrey Chaucer
O Socratès plains de philosophie,
Seneque en meurs, Auglius en pratique,
Ovides grans en ta poëtrie,
Briés en parler, saiges en rethorique . . .
Grant translateur, noble Geoffrey Chaucier.
O Socrates, filled with philosophy,
Seneca in morals, Aulus Gellius in practice,
Great Ovid of your poetry,
Brief in speech, wise in rhetoric,
Most high eagle, who by your science
Enlumined the realm of Æneas.
The Isle of giants, of Brut, who has
Sown the flowers and planted the rose bower
For those ignorant of French,
Great translator, noble Geoffrey Chaucer.
You are the god of earthly love in Albion,
And of the Rose - in the Angelic land,
Which, from the Saxoness Angelica, has flourished
Into Angle-land, from her whose name is applied
As the last in this etymology -
You have translated in good English;
And a garden for which you ask for plants
From those who compose in order to be authorities,
You have long since created,
Great translator, noble Geoffrey Chaucer.
From you therefore, from the fountain of Helicon,
I have asked to have an authentic drink,
From the stream that is entirely in your power,
In order to quench my fevered thirst,
I who shall be shall be paralyzed in Gaul
Until you send to give me drink.
I am Eustaces; you shall have some of my plants;
Take in good grace these works of a schoolboy
Which you will recieve from me by Clifford,
Great translator, noble Geoffrey Chaucer.
L'envoy
poem by Eustache Deschamps
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The translator's task is to create, in his or her own language, the same tensions appearing in the original. That's hard!
quote by Manuel Puig
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Where Do I Belong (4th revision)
Cannot escape, cannot lift off to leave
life behind; though reading of amazing
affection, a sensitive heart filled with love
driving emptiness and misery away, I’m
still caged in darkness without reprieve
Stranded in depressive doldrums but
unable to place a cause – given my son’s
operation is routine and we’re able to
afford best treatment anyway, why feel
so bad, where is the missing ideal
Being the best assembly-line translator,
assisting colleagues & clients, mother of
two independent kids needing only money
& material aid not our physical presence
or leadership; other than living life with
Integrity, I’m empty – if Life’s purpose is
caring for small beings some might think
me a crocodile, yet in a reptilian way,
gently carrying small crocodiles in my
mouth with the very best
Now just a translator in need of a lodestar,
an ideal to provide inspiration, none remain
to sustain me, my loved ones independent,
forced to focus on new things, to ask
where do I belong…
poem by Margaret Alice Second
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The only problem was that I couldn't communicate with Dario. He speaks Italian and I don't. We had a translator the whole time. I just felt that something was lost with the go between. He was a delightful man, but I wish we could have spoken the same language.
quote by Kim Hunter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Nuevo Mexico
What happen to the promise?
Did it die
as soon as we crossed?
or hid-
and got lost?
was it not bilingual?
or did it need a translator-
maybe if we paid a toll?
perhaps if our skin was lighter
and accents not so thick
is it like a bomb closer to
explosion with each tick?
poem by Jeremy Rascon
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One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish and English lines and see how the translator worked.
quote by Anita Diament
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Journey of an Assistant Manager: The past and the future
Its a lovely morning
the grasses wet with the morning rain
I am standing, here at the club grounds
watching, as my players train...
I am the Assistant Manager of Winslow Town F.C.
We are preparing for tomorrow's game
discussing about the tactics, set-pieces and all
At this moment, I couldn't help but recall memories
of how I've fared in my life and reached here after all...
'Sports' was the thing for me always
I regretted for the player in me, that I never found
Registering myself for the Sports Management course
I knew that I had stepped into the world, that I always loved!
A famous Swedish manager, I dont know what struck him
He joined an Indian club to steer it out of trouble
He was in need of a translator, I applied for it fast
and we both helped our club, for its first ever 'double'
We won the League and the National Cup that year!
During these two years that I stayed there
I learnt quickly, all the tricks-n-trades of the game
Tough I wasa a mere translator, soon I became his friend
and he became my mentor, taught me everything 'bout the game...
The third year, he started getting offers from England
and he packed his bags, asked me to come along
I would have been the foolest had I refused him
Saying yes, I started dreaming where my career was going to land!
And so, we both came to England, that very year
to this wonderful place, this Winslow Town Football Club!
promoted as a Youth Coach, thus begun my real career
and so began my hottest pursuit
to become the 'World's Best Manager of the Year'...
And today, after two more years...
Its a lovely morning
the grasses wet with the morning rain
I am standing, here at the club grounds
watching, as my players train...
From a simple student to a translator
to a youth coach at England, to being the Assistant Manager
Life's taken me places, that I am sure
I have definitely set my eyes someday,
on becoming the 'World's Best Manager of the Year'...
poem by Soumya Dash
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On Writing
is talking aloud to myself
i'm the first recipient of my communication,
first translator of my emotion into words.
first witness to the subtle unfolding within
writing is my strength.
writing is my weakness too
to me writing is meditation.
writing is prayer!
poem by Indira Babbellapati
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Here's To Anti War People
To so called patriots and pro war people and those to enlightenment blind
They are not to be trusted and are traitor kind
But they march for peace and I see that as great
And they are the people that I celebrate
If anti war people are seen by some as traitors and guilty of grave sin
Then I too am a traitor amongst them count me in
For war never brings true peace despite what some say
And somewhere in the World war is waged every day
In Countries in Africa, The Middle East and Afghanistan and Iraq
People constantly living in fear of attack
From terrorists and extremists that war did create
Compassionless people who are consumed by hate
So here's to anti war people their praises I must sing
Their march is for peace and that is a great thing.
poem by Francis Duggan
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The Things
Art must mount a full-scale attack on language itself,
by means of language and its surrogates, on behalf of the standard of silence.
Susan Sontag.
I talk too much.
The Things are:
a flower
a grain of sand
a spark.
And all together.
Translator bulgarian-english: : Milena Veleva
poem by Bozhidar Pangelov
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me.
quote by George III
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Harlot, yes. But traitor, never!
quote by Mata Hari
Submitted by Dan CostinaÅŸ
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