Poisons; Marin Sorescu

Grass, mountains, waters, and sky

Have entered my bloodstream

And I am waiting for them

To take effect.

I feel i am starting

To turn green because of the grass.

That I’ve grown full of chasms

and I breath mists

because of the mountains.

With my feet I am rounding the edges of stones

When I walk on the road

And they ask me about the sea

Because of the waters

I feel that I’m turning

Seemingly blue, and unbounded

And that stars are sprinkling on my eyes

And the tips of my fingers.

wings

ready to grow, ready to fly ,
ready to become
who you want to be?
ready or not, give
receive; grace
and take flight

sand bags

was it you ?
who cut a hole on the bottom
of a tiny sand bag filled with love
and now it is pouring down
as fast at it fills up
on the beach
I bend down to fill up
this heart shaped bag
and you laugh
while the ocean cries tears
on the sand, which dries them out
and they all shine
traces of loves past
walking down this shore
with light heart
and who knows maybe with dreams
of common futures
or just the joy of the moment
and the new energy thew drew , as they should
from the old salt
while the ocean keeps waving
lifting our hopes for all of us

catch up my soul

recalcitrant to progress one may say
but all i think is that you have to pace yourself
take time to breath, and time for joy
sit down with friends and talk in peace
allowing to transcend the boundaries of time
and let your soul catch up and maybe
to align to where you want to go

black hole

look hard through the dark
and you will see the vastness of the night
look again and calculate your chances
to come out into the light
look long from different angles
and reverse the flight
just turn the universe with grace
as you would tune a sleeve from inside out
and shine your corollary smile
that burns just like a ring of fire
at the edge of the wide mouth
that has sucked ALL pain and struggle
All the matter it has known in the immensity
that is to all Unknown

the truth

The truth is important to me;
is it important to you?
or will you let 
youR anger shaped thoughts
Build it for you ?

Because of your strong and Sheer Will
You Hear them Ring true,
But SHOULD you make others 
believe in them too?

And Why would you harm
the green shoots 
Do think it is Not hard  Enough
to grow in the shade of tall trees?

let the river Feed new and old roots
Its waters are enough for All trees 
together they will strengthen
The paths for the footsteps leading to truth

green

Shoot green circles
in bubbles of songs
grow tall as a tree
quick as the grass
learn your path
be curious
and love every day
all the light
all the sound
all the peace

With a smile and a nudge

With a smile and a nudge 

With your hand you reached out

And together we have crossed

To the other side of fear

With joy we had started 

Planting the orchard 

That would turn wild fruits

Into foods for the free souls

And now how could you ask

If I am willing to cross back

Have patience, Don’t you see

How busy I am being free?

stars after rain

You have rained
a lot of love on my soul
and it is time for me to wave back
so i will rise from the ocean
to clear the clouds
and i will fly
until i find a tall pine
by the beach
and i will hang from it the big dipper
and i will make it drip from its pan
star by star glittering light
to sooth your sleep
and make it birth dreams

model

You are my model

And in my mind 

i have shaped you like a sphere 

There are no sharp edges

Or abrupt corners

No surprises

Just smooth perfection

the incredible

-after Marin Sorescu

I have touched the incredible

Then I moved in with him

And I  am barely comfortable 

With the thought

Because I have only

Gotten to know him at the surface 

And the surface is a thin

Thin layer of ice 

On which I am skating

But the incredible

Is also beautiful 

Like an exquisite bulb 

Made from oh so many 

thin layers

And I am reaching out

Trying to touch

It’s fiery core

Knowing that 

This too would be just

The beginning 

Of many more 

Incredible layers

--and a more faithful translation from Catalin Florea

The Incredible

I have touched the incredible
And I moved into it,
Somewhat.

But this is only the surface.
The pellicle.

There are many levels 
Of incredible.
(That's why you cannot believe it)
Like the many layers
That make a bulb.

And the fiery center of the incredible
The core, the pith
The unbelievable of the unbelievable
It is also just a beginning.
The surface layer,
The pellicle...

And so on.

i have blindfolded the trees (marin sorescu)

I have tied a green scarf Over the trees eyes I hid and told them to find me They found me immediately With their leafs happy and giggly. I have tied a scarf made of clouds Over the birds eyes And they found me With their songs, I have tied sadness’s eyes With a smile And it took her but a day to find me in love. Then I tried to tie the sun’s eyes with my nights. Stop hiding he said I know where you are Right now and in time. Stop hiding repeated The chorus made up Of all thing and all feelings I had been trying to tie With scarves over their eyes.

Uncover

Uncover
PJs translation from Marin Sorescu I enshroud in green The trees’ eyes. I hide and bid them find me, And they find me, The giggly leaves. I enshroud in cloud The birds’ eyes. And they find me By their song. I shroud sadness’ eyes With a smile. In one day She comes to me in love. Then I pall The sun’s eyes With my night. Don’t hide, he says, I see you Now and ever. Don’t hide, Rings the chorus Of all I try To enshroud.

horse thief

He is chasing me
as if i would have stolen
the village's horses
When all i have done
was point the way
towards freedom
and that every now and then
there comes a time
with the incredible joy
to make choices

bridges

i have always liked bridges
the view from between two world
the possibilities boiling below
in the nervous rivers
the changes and the oscillations
occurring with high frequency
for a few short seconds
and always have been
a little afraid to cross.

and yet my friend
most of the times
you sit on one bank
and i set on the other
and the bridge calls
for me to cross
once and again
so we can share
the solid ground
of understanding

i join you as you sit in the sand
still and thoughtful and silent
as a monument celebrating wisdom
and my thoughts come
to wrap around your shoulders
to keep you warm and protected
while gently braking the silence
with non words of turbulence
that adamantly flow about
reshaping who we are

- this one for Bushu

tree branches in winter

their beautiful naked arms
reached out to the sky
to the sun,
instead of crying of hunger
the leafless branches
found grace
in their dances

xmas poem #2

May you find light
in the heart of the dark;
May you find warmth
To melt any ice block;
May you find strength
To help you stand up
to any northeaster
That you meet on your path.


May sprouts of hope
Grow at the side of the road;
May you find joy
In the steps that you take;
May you find friends
To lend you their hands;
May you have enough luck
To give them some back

With a smile and a nudge

With a smile and a nudge 

With your hand you reached out

And together we have crossed

To the other side of fear

With joy we had started 

Planting the orchard 

That would turn wild fruits

Into foods for the free souls

And now how could you ask

If I am willing to cross back

Have patience, Don’t you see

How busy I am being free?

freedom rising

this is not about money
this is not about pride
this is about freedom
and the space to exercise it
this is about finally
feeling ready to grow up
gathering the courage
to stand up and create
this is about the love
they are ready to sweat for
the blood they are ready to bleed
the joy they are ready to receive
so back up when the young ones
Are ready and watch them  rising
they are not here for the taking,
they are here for building and giving.
give them the encouragement
and watch them rising
give them the teaching
they'll tear down the walls
of your fears anyways
give them the space
and give them the freedom
you better bet All the money
on the future, and the future
is them, this is not about you
but about what future shall bring
and the future is bright

the wizard and its magic carpet

with your hands
you've shown the path;
it lead away and it was wide
moreover if we looked again
it multiplied - and yet
under your spell
we were always coming back
towards the center that you made

with the way you walk
you have shown us
how to cross the bridge
and thus we made it
to the other side of fear.
And from your voice
we have learned the tone
of truth, its joyful ring
is now the only music
that we want to sing.

and all the little flowers
bend their heads today
towards your giant feet.
and we do hope that
you have also learned
that all your steps
you are allowed to take
because amongst them
all the little flowers worked
to weave your Flying carpet

Pied. No Pied.

If that magic flute Would play 
that charming song of yours
I Could not hesitate but say 
you go ahead and lead the way

The sweet aroma flowing out
Has filled my head with dreams
The balance does not tip for stats
In this space if you sing

I see it standing still between the odds, 
she cannot tell Whether the path leads up 
to heaven or it spirals down to hell 
it is on us to take the risk today

we shall commit to walk the path, 
and sail the way. should oceans 
be in our way, just reach out for my hand
I’ll prop your shoulders then

And if the storms will takes us down
We might just fall with broken bones
But we’ll not bend to scary thoughts 
of winds, and waves or debris rocks 

We’ll stand the scorching days 
and freezing nights and if we are  in need to light 
we’ll burn our hope on altars 
to warm up our bodies and our souls

And if the gods agree with us
We’ll bloom like flowers
sending shoots to sing with angels
joyful, hopefull hosannas 

Here and there along the path
We will raise and spin in circles 
like the planets - trying 
to revolutionize their dance

We'll do it even though we've learned
there is no end to our problems
joys and pains;  There is just music
And the will to dance.

My house

I have got a musical door
Which sings all day long
The tiniest rumors
Ever heard through a keyhole.

I have got a well polished floor
Which would shake her own knees
Dancing twist all night long
Should she be freed from gravity

I have got all my windows curious
About the morning traffic outside
Cars, dogs, people and trucks
but I find them alright 
since they have never ceased
to give light

In my house I made room
For a dog who has the habit to howl
At the moon requesting To be shown
where in the night she has hidden his bone

Fall

She was filled with the sweetness
Of summer memories
Yet her face was wrinkled
Due to the premonition of winter.
She fell gently at the root
Of her own tree of life
And prayed that her flesh
Would feed the young shoots.
She thought that fall
Could not be too bad
If in her leaving she was
Given the chance to be reborn
As the seed of a new tree of life

morning drive/joyfully yours

each morning i drive
on the same road
and though know where it takes me
i have never been bored

each day the spiders
have woven their nets
high up in the air
looking for innocent pray

the sun works every day
at piercing the dark
with a bundle of rays
illuminating the path

the school bus reliably stops
at the railway, while children
are waiting to get our in the world
and make this day joyfully theirs

marry the moon

i have married the blue sky
and i have married the ocean
at the same time
and i did not realize
at the start they were one.
now i am caught
in a permanent swing
between the depths and the highs
the serene and the dark
my name is the moon
and i am ready to sing
for all bathed
in doubts and in light

gam zu le-tovah

gam zu le-tovah
said the ish gamzu
and he was right
or he was going to be right

his optimism would lead 
the way his life went by
shaping the future
from the beauty in his eye

Florence - the storm

while life flows down the river path
from dawn to dusk
poetry is going to hit you with a wave
as strong as the storm
you harbor in your soul

She is going to stir the clouds
and spin the possibilities
like a hurricane blows
the winds of change
she wants to make

and through the whirlwind
that you must withstand
you will learn to see through
its very eye  into the future
And find the peace that it can bring

one

she is seldom heard
and she thinks this is all well deserved
she's seldom seen
and she never thought this as mean
she may never be grand
but the one things she has
going for her and keeping her going
is the fact that she cares
and she knows she can get
problems solved
when others cannot
if only she'll rid
herself of doubts
and have faith

this is not a poem

it is a gift of love
of learning and exhaustion
of learning to live with it
whatever & However heavy it is;
to carry the flame
into the future
fly onTO the wings of hope
AND JUMP towards NIKE

Paris in June

Paris in June
Was spinning in high heels
Amidst tourists
Beating the gray asphalt path

The air was bright
And smelled of soothing linden
While the motorcycle sounds
circle around the triumphAL arch

Beyond the antique merchants
The Seine was flowing serene
Almost Washing the feet
Of Notre Dame and Saints Chapelle

And all theses sweet perfumes
And memories That taste of chocolate
They could turn to smoke 
unless they're shared

summer

in this summer of battling giants
in the arena of free open air
we breath respite and we let ourselves
be covered by showers of small flowers

the complex wonders they work
through the alchemy of generosity
where friends Are mostly real
and enemies are in large parts imaginary

And if daVid never quite understood
the power of the little flower
he seeded all the buds of hope
we need to carry when we climb our mountains

to escalate AND See the sights 
from the shoulders of giants
one needs to walk the path in righteousness
and love and not in wrath;

together will find peace this summer
we will turn the arena of free open air
from its scope of battling GIANTS
and mercenaries to a dance ARENA we hope

 

love

it is the answer
no question
it is what pumps
the blood
through the veins
it is what dissolves
loneliness
into laughter
it is the curious head
of a child
up in the morning
asking
for a hearty breakfast
for the
brain

it is the answer
no question
to hunger
and to misstrust
it is the magic
cream that
heals the wounds
it is the wound
that heals itself
opening up
towards the otside
living for others.
satiated
by the need to give
even if it means
tipping the world
off-balance

Come through for me

Come through for me
Come true to me
Restore the joy
Of honesty and faith
For once , for all
Let the world ring
Its wake up call
Let truth be told
And freedom reign

Cypress trees

You would think
They are always on their knees
And softened by the misty water
At their feet
And yet they rise
Towards the sky
And see their future
In bright lights
Theirs is the flexibility of youth
Theirs is the hard core
That keeps their spines up straight
When heavy winds come blow
They know this too shall pass
And wait on peace
Cause what’s an hour
For the cypress trees

Everybody’s poems

It was a humid night

And it rained lots of love 

And when we woke up

It was raining light

So the seeds of the poems

Planted last night

Grew up like weeds

At the side of the road

There is no shame

To bend down

Pick some up

To flavor your cooking

There is so much light

They should be growing 

Poems in everybody’s yard

Together with grass

Mustang Lady

Mustang lady

She rode a yellow mustang

Her voice was speckled with dust

But her words flowed like honey 

And she had a knack for holding

The reins real tight, a sweet way

That barely upset anybody 

Who’s ever been around her 

To see her and love her

and survive with their soul never

Intact - but touched by the 

Lady who rode the yellow mustang 

April Breeze

April breeze

Love is the blushing petal

That carves its way up

In the cold April wind

Towards the sun